El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Given New $16.00 Price Target at Benchmark

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its target price increased by Benchmark from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LOCO. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research lowered El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $11.00 price objective on El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.38.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 0.8%

LOCO stock opened at $14.06 on Monday. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.29 and a 1-year high of $14.50. The firm has a market cap of $421.24 million, a P/E ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.51 and its 200-day moving average is $11.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.04. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 5.40%.The company had revenue of $123.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.18 million. Equities analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 648.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 152,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 132,351 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $945,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $112,000. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $149,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $123,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

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.