El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Coverage Initiated at Craig Hallum

Investment analysts at Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) in a research report issued on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Craig Hallum’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 72.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LOCO. StockNews.com raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Monday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $10.42 on Tuesday. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.17 and a fifty-two week high of $14.25. The company has a market capitalization of $311.96 million, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.31.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,094 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Quarry LP raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 235.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 5,187 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at about $107,000. 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.