El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Separately, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $9.88 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.54 and its 200-day moving average is $12.39. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.17 and a 1-year high of $14.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $294.20 million, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 1.50.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Equities research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth $1,146,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $320,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $165,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

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.