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

StockNews.com cut shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Truist Financial boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $13.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.11 and a 52 week high of $14.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.25. The firm has a market cap of $407.41 million, a PE ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 1.49.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $122.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.39 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.76% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at El Pollo Loco

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari acquired 21,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.13 per share, with a total value of $279,997.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 159,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,834.33. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 34.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth $30,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 5,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 212,725 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.