Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 85,678 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings by 57.6%, selling 85,678 shares and now owning approximately 0.21% of the company.
• El Pollo Loco's recent earnings report showed a 3.0% year-over-year revenue increase and earnings per share of $0.28, exceeding expectations of $0.25.
• The stock opened at $10.63, with a market capitalization of $318.90 million and an annual trading range between $8.29 and $14.10.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) by 57.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,943 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 85,678 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.21% of El Pollo Loco worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 22,508 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of 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. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 61,201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 196,432 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,267,000 after acquiring an additional 11,894 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

El Pollo Loco stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $10.63. 140,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,053. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.36. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.29 and a 12 month high of $14.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $318.90 million, a PE ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.08.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.