El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $123.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.18 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 10.15%.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 2.2%

LOCO traded down $0.25 on Thursday, hitting $10.88. The company had a trading volume of 313,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.38. El Pollo Loco has a 52-week low of $8.29 and a 52-week high of $11.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $325.86 million, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.49.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth about $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on LOCO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.17.

About El Pollo Loco

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.