El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Given New $15.00 Price Target at DA Davidson

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its price target upped by DA Davidson from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

LOCO has been the topic of several other reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Benchmark upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 2.4%

LOCO stock opened at $13.67 on Monday. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.87 and a 1-year high of $15.90. The firm has a market cap of $410.92 million, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.28 and its 200-day moving average is $11.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%.The company had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.02 million. Equities analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth $741,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 359,396 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,486,000 after buying an additional 61,200 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 236.1% during the 3rd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 49,539 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 34,800 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. now owns 92,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 31,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken and complementary menu offerings. The company’s signature product is its marinated, flame-grilled chicken, which is prepared in an open-flame rotisserie and served in a variety of formats including tacos, burritos, bowls and salads. In addition to its core chicken offerings, El Pollo Loco menu items feature fresh-made salsas, guacamole, sides such as charro beans and fresh tortillas, as well as a selection of beverages and desserts.

Founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, by Juan Francisco Ochoa, the concept expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first U.S.