El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Raised to “Buy” at Benchmark

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) was upgraded by analysts at Benchmark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $14.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. Benchmark’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.06% from the company’s previous close.

LOCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Zacks Research lowered El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.88.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 16.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO opened at $12.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.96 million, a P/E ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.51. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.29 and a 1 year high of $13.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.04. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 10.55%. The company had revenue of $123.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.18 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the third quarter worth $97,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting El Pollo Loco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — LOCO reported $0.25 EPS vs. $0.21 consensus and revenue slightly above estimates; management emphasized improving margins and profitability. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Same-store sales growth of ~2.1% in Q4, signaling steady demand in existing restaurants — supports revenue momentum and franchise economics. OCBJ Article
• Positive Sentiment: Company guidance and commentary point to faster expansion and pipeline — targeting 18–20 new restaurants in 2026 and seeing strong demand in new markets, which implies growth leverage over time. MSN Expansion Article
• Positive Sentiment: Operational and culinary investments highlighted as paying off — improvements to menu and operations support same-store sales and margin expansion. Yahoo Finance Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Benchmark upgraded LOCO to Buy with a $14 target, signaling bullish broker sentiment and providing upside vs. recent levels. Benzinga Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $13 but maintained a Hold rating — a modestly constructive move but not a directional endorsement. Benzinga Truist Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and analyst write-ups provide detail for investors to parse unit-level trends, margin drivers and capital allocation — useful for validating the sustainability of the beat. Earnings Call Transcript

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.