Weiss Ratings Reiterates "Hold (C)" Rating for El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has maintained a "hold (C)" rating for El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO), indicating a neutral stance on the stock.
• El Pollo Loco's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.28, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.25, with revenue reaching $125.83 million.
• Institutional investors own 81.28% of El Pollo Loco's stock, with significant increases in holdings from various investment firms in recent quarters.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.56. 406,749 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 195,079. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.18. El Pollo Loco has a 12 month low of $8.29 and a 12 month high of $13.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.05.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $125.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. El Pollo Loco's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 495.3% in the 2nd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,231,087 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,302 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,618,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $7,008,000 after acquiring an additional 451,575 shares during the last quarter. Monimus Capital Management LP purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,365,000. Finally, Tieton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 629,990 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,936,000 after purchasing an additional 114,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company's stock.

El Pollo Loco Company 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.

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