33,797 Shares in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO Acquired by Magnetar Financial LLC

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired 33,797 shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., valued at approximately $348,000, during the first quarter, representing about 0.11% of the company's total shares.
• El Pollo Loco reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.28, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.25, and achieved revenues of $125.83 million for the quarter, up 3.0% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of El Pollo Loco's stock, with MetLife and Quantbot Technologies significantly increasing their stakes in the company during the same quarter.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 33,797 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $348,000. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 0.11% of El Pollo Loco at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,722 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company's stock.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 0.7%

LOCO traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.46. 142,471 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,922. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.33. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.29 and a 52 week high of $13.99.

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

About El Pollo Loco

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.