El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 456,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,134 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.52% of El Pollo Loco worth $5,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LOCO. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares in the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth about $130,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth $252,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on El Pollo Loco in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $9.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.20 and a 12 month high of $14.25. The firm has a market cap of $284.64 million, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.72.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco 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.