Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 11,403.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,037 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,037 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.38% of El Pollo Loco worth $1,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $97,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of LOCO opened at $13.82 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.89 million, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.81. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $15.90.

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

El Pollo Loco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. DA Davidson raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, El Pollo Loco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco 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.