El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.75.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $10.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.28 million, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.98. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.29 and a 52 week high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.67 and a 200-day moving average of $10.45.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $121.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.57 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 5.39%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the third quarter valued at about $112,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 11,027.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 35,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 35,179 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 27,726 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 5,934 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 97.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 105,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 52,101 shares during the period. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC lifted its position in El Pollo Loco by 34.1% during the third quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 253,956 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 64,512 shares during the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken and complementary menu offerings. The company’s signature product is its marinated, flame-grilled chicken, which is prepared in an open-flame rotisserie and served in a variety of formats including tacos, burritos, bowls and salads. In addition to its core chicken offerings, El Pollo Loco menu items feature fresh-made salsas, guacamole, sides such as charro beans and fresh tortillas, as well as a selection of beverages and desserts.

Founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, by Juan Francisco Ochoa, the concept expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first U.S.