El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.8750.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LOCO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity at El Pollo Loco

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 9,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.92, for a total transaction of $161,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,635,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,511,881.68. This trade represents a 0.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 364,546 shares of company stock worth $6,163,240 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 13,095 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,008,000 after purchasing an additional 451,575 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in El Pollo Loco by 7.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 188,519 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 12,964 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the first quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 0.4%

LOCO opened at $16.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $494.20 million, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. El Pollo Loco has a 12 month low of $8.98 and a 12 month high of $17.40.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. On average, equities analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 28th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken and complementary menu offerings. The company’s signature product is its marinated, flame-grilled chicken, which is prepared in an open-flame rotisserie and served in a variety of formats including tacos, burritos, bowls and salads. In addition to its core chicken offerings, El Pollo Loco menu items feature fresh-made salsas, guacamole, sides such as charro beans and fresh tortillas, as well as a selection of beverages and desserts.

Founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, by Juan Francisco Ochoa, the concept expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first U.S.