AlphaQuest LLC Buys 27,637 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 17,165.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,798 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 27,637 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in El Pollo Loco were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 593,425 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,130,000 after acquiring an additional 14,692 shares during the last quarter. Biglari Sardar boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 489,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,703,000 after purchasing an additional 369,247 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 411,298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,635,000 after purchasing an additional 75,542 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 198,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in El Pollo Loco by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 175,555 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,026,000 after buying an additional 8,552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO opened at $10.08 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.36. The firm has a market cap of $300.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.50. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.17 and a 1 year high of $14.25.

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

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.