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

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.50.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LOCO shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted 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 valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth $72,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $11.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.45. The company has a market cap of $331.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.01. El Pollo Loco has a 12 month low of $8.29 and a 12 month high of $11.74.

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.