El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LOCO. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of LOCO traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, reaching $10.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 173,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,640. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.28 million, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. El Pollo Loco has a twelve month low of $8.17 and a twelve month high of $14.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.29 and a 200-day moving average of $12.09.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. The company had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. Equities analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LOCO. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,533,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,695,000 after buying an additional 266,908 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,454 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,230,000 after acquiring an additional 34,399 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 618,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,141,000 after acquiring an additional 40,012 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 593,425 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,130,000 after purchasing an additional 14,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 456,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,267,000 after purchasing an additional 45,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

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.