El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Price Target Raised to $12.00

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LOCO. Zacks Research cut El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $11.16 on Thursday. El Pollo Loco has a 12 month low of $8.29 and a 12 month high of $12.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.24 million, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.46. 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 (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 5.39%.The firm had revenue of $121.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.57 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 31.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,229 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the third quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

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.