El Pollo Loco Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:LOCO)

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 4,826 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,994% compared to the typical volume of 156 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LOCO. Truist Financial raised their price target on El Pollo Loco from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $10.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.11 million, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.11 and a 52 week high of $11.99.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $116.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.09 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 5.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 285.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 6,176 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 1,074.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 9,264 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.