El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LOCO. Craig Hallum started coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $9.08 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.43. 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 has a market cap of $272.92 million, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.11. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.29 and a fifty-two week high of $14.25.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $119.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.20 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. El Pollo Loco’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 235.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 5,187 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth about $130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

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.