El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.8750.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of LOCO stock opened at $16.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $503.95 million, a PE ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.61. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.98 and a 52 week high of $17.40.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $110,469.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,695 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,973.45. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 457,703 shares of company stock valued at $7,722,138 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 110,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 85.0% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,413 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,492 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.