El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Receives $15.75 Average Price Target from Analysts

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.75.

LOCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO stock opened at $10.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $324.96 million, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41. El Pollo Loco has a 52-week low of $8.29 and a 52-week high of $12.65.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $121.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.57 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 5.39%. As a group, equities analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,580,000 after acquiring an additional 16,867 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 495.3% during the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,231,087 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,302 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 2.1% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 741,793 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,195,000 after purchasing an additional 15,400 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,008,000 after purchasing an additional 451,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 1.9% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 630,903 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,120,000 after buying an additional 11,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

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.