Q1 EPS Estimates for El Pollo Loco Boosted by William Blair

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Research analysts at William Blair upped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for El Pollo Loco in a report released on Friday, March 7th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $0.20 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.19. The consensus estimate for El Pollo Loco’s current full-year earnings is $0.83 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for El Pollo Loco’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.29 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.94 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.00 EPS.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 million.

LOCO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO opened at $10.60 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.35 million, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.50. El Pollo Loco has a 52-week low of $8.17 and a 52-week high of $14.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,533,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,695,000 after acquiring an additional 266,908 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,454 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,230,000 after acquiring an additional 34,399 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake 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 worth $7,141,000 after acquiring an additional 40,012 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 acquiring an additional 14,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Biglari Sardar boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 489,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,703,000 after acquiring an additional 369,247 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About El Pollo Loco

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.