Nuveen LLC Invests $5.62 Million in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 545,473 shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. valued at approximately $5.6 million, bringing its stake to 1.82% as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Several other hedge funds, including Millennium Management LLC and Bank of America Corp DE, significantly increased their holdings in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the stock.
• El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.15% and reported $0.28 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and achieving a 3.0% revenue increase year-over-year.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 545,473 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,618,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.82% of El Pollo Loco as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in El Pollo Loco by 392.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 228,816 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 182,366 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in El Pollo Loco by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 342,570 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,953,000 after purchasing an additional 50,765 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in El Pollo Loco by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 244,701 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,824,000 after purchasing an additional 87,287 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in El Pollo Loco by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,265 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company's stock.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

El Pollo Loco stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.63. 140,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,053. The firm has a market cap of $318.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.72 and a 200 day moving average of $10.37. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.29 and a 12 month high of $14.10.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 9.83% and a net margin of 5.15%.The firm had revenue of $125.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $124.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

El Pollo Loco Profile

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiary, El Pollo Loco, Inc, develops, franchises, licenses, and operates quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco name. It operates and franchises restaurants located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and Louisiana. It also licenses its brand to restaurants in the Philippines.