El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LOCO. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of 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 reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ LOCO traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, reaching $10.42. The company had a trading volume of 173,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 266,640. The firm has a market cap of $310.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.50. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.17 and a fifty-two week high of $14.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,094 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 235.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 5,187 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,000. 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.