Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 246,867 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,187,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.81% of El Pollo Loco as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LOCO. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter valued at about $88,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have weighed in on LOCO. DA Davidson increased their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Benchmark boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded El Pollo Loco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.12.
Get Our Latest Analysis on El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco Trading Down 0.3%
NASDAQ LOCO opened at $15.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $464.67 million, a P/E ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.78. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.98 and a 52-week high of $17.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $129.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.29 million. Equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.
El Pollo Loco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity
In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total value of $2,286,910.67. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,644,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,948,787.33. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 558,803 shares of company stock worth $9,427,504. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.
El Pollo Loco Profile
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Free Report)
El Pollo Loco NASDAQ: LOCO is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken and complementary menu offerings. The company's signature product is its marinated, flame-grilled chicken, which is prepared in an open-flame rotisserie and served in a variety of formats including tacos, burritos, bowls and salads. In addition to its core chicken offerings, El Pollo Loco menu items feature fresh-made salsas, guacamole, sides such as charro beans and fresh tortillas, as well as a selection of beverages and desserts.
Founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, by Juan Francisco Ochoa, the concept expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first U.S.
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