El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Share Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)’s stock price crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.92 and traded as high as $10.92. El Pollo Loco shares last traded at $10.56, with a volume of 200,880 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on LOCO shares. Zacks Research lowered El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, El Pollo Loco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $316.27 million, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $10.92 and its 200-day moving average is $10.44.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $121.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.57 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,580,000 after purchasing an additional 16,867 shares in the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 495.3% in the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,231,087 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,554,000 after buying an additional 1,024,302 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 741,793 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,195,000 after acquiring an additional 15,400 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,008,000 after purchasing an additional 451,575 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 1.9% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 630,903 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,120,000 after acquiring an additional 11,913 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.