El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of LOCO opened at $11.41 on Wednesday. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.17 and a fifty-two week high of $14.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.48. The firm has a market cap of $341.62 million, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $120.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.03 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. The company’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Biglari Sardar grew its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 307.7% in the third quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 489,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,703,000 after buying an additional 369,247 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,735,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in El Pollo Loco by 384.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 175,670 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 139,375 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,056,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 411,298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,635,000 after purchasing an additional 75,542 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiary, El Pollo Loco, Inc, develops, franchises, licenses, and operates quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco name. It operates and franchises restaurants located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and Louisiana. It also licenses its brand to restaurants in the Philippines.