El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) to Post FY2024 Earnings of $0.59 Per Share, William Blair Forecasts

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Investment analysts at William Blair reduced their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of El Pollo Loco in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 24th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.59 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $0.65. The consensus estimate for El Pollo Loco’s current full-year earnings is $0.65 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for El Pollo Loco’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.09 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $0.61 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 6.1 %

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $8.91 on Friday. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.11 and a 1 year high of $11.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $277.81 million, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.41.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 5.45%. The firm had revenue of $112.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 26,059 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 6,159 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 285.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 6,176 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 125,174 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 6,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 215,025 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 7,100 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiary, El Pollo Loco, Inc, develops, franchises, licenses, and operates quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco name. It operates and franchises restaurants located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and Louisiana. It also licenses its brand to restaurants in the Philippines.