StockNews.com Upgrades El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) to “Buy”

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Separately, Truist Financial increased their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of LOCO stock traded up $0.31 on Monday, hitting $10.32. 1,018,660 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,000. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.78 million, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.44. El Pollo Loco has a one year low of $8.11 and a one year high of $11.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.85.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $116.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.09 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 5.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 541,441 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,846,000 after acquiring an additional 134,673 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,162,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 183.7% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 46,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 30,068 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 122.8% during the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 101,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 55,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 35.6% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

About El Pollo Loco

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.