El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,171 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in El Pollo Loco were worth $160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LOCO. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $130,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth $154,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth $156,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO opened at $9.02 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. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $8.29 and a one year high of $14.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.01 million, a PE ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.11.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $119.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.