Divisadero Street Capital Management LP Sells 393,437 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Divisadero Street Capital Management LP cut its holdings in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 837,650 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 393,437 shares during the quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP’s holdings in El Pollo Loco were worth $8,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tieton Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 629,990 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,936,000 after acquiring an additional 114,850 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth $672,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth $551,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 177.7% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 62,265 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 39,844 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth $250,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 16.9%

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $12.72 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.50. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.29 and a 1-year high of $13.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.04. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 10.39%. The company had revenue of $123.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.18 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More El Pollo Loco News

Here are the key news stories impacting El Pollo Loco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — LOCO reported $0.25 EPS vs. $0.21 consensus and revenue slightly above estimates; management emphasized improving margins and profitability. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Same-store sales growth of ~2.1% in Q4, signaling steady demand in existing restaurants — supports revenue momentum and franchise economics. OCBJ Article
• Positive Sentiment: Company guidance and commentary point to faster expansion and pipeline — targeting 18–20 new restaurants in 2026 and seeing strong demand in new markets, which implies growth leverage over time. MSN Expansion Article
• Positive Sentiment: Operational and culinary investments highlighted as paying off — improvements to menu and operations support same-store sales and margin expansion. Yahoo Finance Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Benchmark upgraded LOCO to Buy with a $14 target, signaling bullish broker sentiment and providing upside vs. recent levels. Benzinga Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $13 but maintained a Hold rating — a modestly constructive move but not a directional endorsement. Benzinga Truist Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and analyst write-ups provide detail for investors to parse unit-level trends, margin drivers and capital allocation — useful for validating the sustainability of the beat. Earnings Call Transcript

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

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.