El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Receives $16.12 Average PT from Analysts

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.1250.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LOCO shares. Freedom Capital raised El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark upped their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson increased their target price on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO stock opened at $15.31 on Friday. El Pollo Loco has a one year low of $8.98 and a one year high of $17.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $465.88 million, a PE ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.78.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $129.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.29 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at El Pollo Loco

In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total value of $2,286,910.67. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,644,979 shares in the company, valued at $62,948,787.33. The trade was a 3.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 558,803 shares of company stock valued at $9,427,504. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 339.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,665 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 5,148 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter worth about $486,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,187,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,550,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth about $253,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.