El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Shares Break Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.00 and traded as high as $15.15. El Pollo Loco shares last traded at $15.01, with a volume of 266,565 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOCO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Benchmark upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Roth Capital began coverage on El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.30.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $465.58 million, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.77.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.29 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 25,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $421,674.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,513,405 shares in the company, valued at $57,971,182.50. The trade was a 0.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 126,656 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,040. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOCO. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 419.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,563 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the third quarter valued at $972,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 302,399 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,339,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 60.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,927 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 7,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth $486,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LOCO) operates and franchises quick-service restaurants specializing in Mexican-inspired food and citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken. Its menu includes chicken meals, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salads, bowls and family meals, along with a variety of sides, beverages and desserts.

The company was founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, and expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first restaurant in Los Angeles. El Pollo Loco primarily serves customers through restaurants in the western and southwestern United States, particularly in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Texas.