Truist Financial Raises El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Price Target to $12.00

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $11.00 to $12.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.01% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on LOCO. Zacks Research downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 0.8%

LOCO stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.81. The company had a trading volume of 31,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,772. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.46. The company has a market capitalization of $323.76 million, a P/E ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.98. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.29 and a 1 year high of $12.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 495.3% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 629,990 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,936,000 after acquiring an additional 114,850 shares during the period. Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter valued at $672,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at $551,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 177.7% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 62,265 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 39,844 shares during the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.