Roth Capital Begins Coverage on El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Roth Capital started coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Roth Capital’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 44.55% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Freedom Capital raised El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.30.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of LOCO opened at $15.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $463.14 million, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.08 and a 200-day moving average of $14.92. El Pollo Loco has a one year low of $8.98 and a one year high of $17.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.29 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 66,422 shares in the company, valued at $1,122,531.80. This trade represents a 54.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 194,257 shares of company stock worth $3,264,264. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Biglari Capital CORP. bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,064,704. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,716,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,013,373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,905,000 after buying an additional 12,072 shares during the period. Tieton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth approximately $17,535,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in El Pollo Loco by 203.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,808,000 after buying an additional 426,320 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco brand. The company specializes in Mexican-inspired meals centered on citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken, prepared using traditional cooking methods. Its menu includes chicken meals, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salads, bowls, family meals and a variety of side dishes, beverages and desserts.

El Pollo Loco was founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, and opened its first restaurant in the United States in 1980.