Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires New Holdings in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $165,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth $170,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 342,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,953,000 after purchasing an additional 50,765 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 392.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 228,816 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 182,366 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 14,988 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 7,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LOCO. Wall Street Zen lowered El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Craig Hallum assumed 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. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of LOCO opened at $11.05 on Monday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.29 and a 12-month high of $14.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.89.

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