El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

LOCO has been the subject of several other research reports. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 3.5 %

LOCO stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.53. The stock had a trading volume of 123,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,115. El Pollo Loco has a 12-month low of $8.17 and a 12-month high of $14.25. The firm has a market cap of $283.80 million, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. On average, equities research analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LOCO. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at about $70,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 235.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 5,187 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.