El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.50.

LOCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock opened at $10.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.01. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.29 and a fifty-two 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 50 day moving average of $10.91 and a 200 day moving average of $10.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 31.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,229 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in El Pollo Loco by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,590 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in El Pollo Loco by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,413 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.