William Blair Comments on El Pollo Loco Q1 Earnings

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Analysts at William Blair issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, January 20th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.19 for the quarter. 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 $0.28 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.24 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.21 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $0.93 EPS.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $120.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.03 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO opened at $11.47 on Wednesday. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.17 and a 1 year high of $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $343.41 million, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.48.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LOCO. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.6% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 84,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 39,824 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 372.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 70,409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 55,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 49.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 65,845 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 21,770 shares during the period. 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.