William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 842,027 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 71.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,208 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 842,027 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.10% of El Pollo Loco worth $3,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $13,580,000 after buying an additional 16,867 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,008,000 after acquiring an additional 451,575 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 7.3% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 391,941 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,802,000 after purchasing an additional 26,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of LOCO stock opened at $13.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $422.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.90. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $15.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%. As a group, analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on LOCO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark upped their target price on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco 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.