StockNews.com Downgrades El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) to Hold

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on LOCO. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO stock opened at $13.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $417.05 million, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.16 and its 200 day moving average is $10.52. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.11 and a 52 week high of $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 5.76%. The firm had revenue of $122.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari purchased 43,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.59 per share, with a total value of $586,557.99. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 364,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,956,694.29. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 189,177 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,158. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter worth $106,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth $111,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently 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.