William Blair Research Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) - William Blair decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 24th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now expects that the restaurant operator will earn $0.59 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $0.65. The consensus estimate for El Pollo Loco's current full-year earnings is $0.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for El Pollo Loco's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.09 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $0.61 EPS.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 5.45%. The company had revenue of $112.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. El Pollo Loco's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Separately, StockNews.com cut El Pollo Loco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 19th.


Get Our Latest Analysis on El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.91. 301,134 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,003. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.92 and a 200 day moving average of $8.81. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.11 and a fifty-two week high of $11.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.81 million, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Fund 1 Investments LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth $7,746,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 33.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 541,441 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,846,000 after buying an additional 134,673 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the third quarter valued at $1,162,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 355,759 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,138,000 after buying an additional 93,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at $685,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About El Pollo Loco

(Get Free Report)

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.

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