American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 4,949 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,307 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.16% of El Pollo Loco worth $546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LOCO. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $156,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,454 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,230,000 after acquiring an additional 34,399 shares during the last quarter. Monimus Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at $935,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 453,422 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 159,000 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $9.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.84. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.17 and a 12-month high of $14.25. The company has a market cap of $287.04 million, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.35.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $114.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Sell-side analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

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.