Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN) and El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.
Profitability
This table compares Main Street Capital and El Pollo Loco's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Main Street Capital | -15.34% | 9.71% | 5.30% |
| El Pollo Loco | 5.32% | 11.20% | 4.46% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
19.5% of Main Street Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.3% of El Pollo Loco shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of Main Street Capital shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 49.7% of El Pollo Loco shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Main Street Capital and El Pollo Loco's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Main Street Capital | $243.37 million | 10.60 | $129.57 million | $2.50 | 15.19 |
| El Pollo Loco | $442.33 million | 1.65 | $24.90 million | $0.75 | 26.63 |
Main Street Capital has higher earnings, but lower revenue than El Pollo Loco. Main Street Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than El Pollo Loco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Main Street Capital has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, El Pollo Loco has a beta of 1.57, indicating that its stock price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Main Street Capital and El Pollo Loco, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Main Street Capital | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.25 |
| El Pollo Loco | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.50 |
Main Street Capital currently has a consensus target price of $31.25, suggesting a potential downside of 17.70%. El Pollo Loco has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential downside of 14.87%. Given El Pollo Loco's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe El Pollo Loco is more favorable than Main Street Capital.
Summary
El Pollo Loco beats Main Street Capital on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
