El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. DA Davidson set a $11.00 price target on El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, March 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of LOCO opened at $14.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.17 and its 200-day moving average is $10.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.93 million, a PE ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.00. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.29 and a fifty-two week high of $14.50.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced 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 business had revenue of $123.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.18 million. Equities analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,590 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,413 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 6.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is 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.