El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Monday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 0.8 %

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $10.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.17 and a 1-year high of $14.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.41. The company has a market cap of $314.66 million, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.50.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $113.19 million. Research analysts anticipate 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,094 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 235.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 5,187 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at $107,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.