El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO – Get Free Report) is one of 382 publicly-traded companies in the “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare El Pollo Loco to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares El Pollo Loco and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Net Income | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| El Pollo Loco | $490.05 million | $26.49 million | 13.29 |
| El Pollo Loco Competitors | $3.31 billion | $250.20 million | -155.85 |
El Pollo Loco’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than El Pollo Loco. El Pollo Loco is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
81.3% of El Pollo Loco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.6% of shares of all “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of El Pollo Loco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.1% of shares of all “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares El Pollo Loco and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| El Pollo Loco | 6.96% | 10.87% | 5.32% |
| El Pollo Loco Competitors | 2.32% | -40.06% | 2.12% |
Volatility and Risk
El Pollo Loco has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, El Pollo Loco’s peers have a beta of 1.41, indicating that their average stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for El Pollo Loco and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| El Pollo Loco | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2.67 |
| El Pollo Loco Competitors | 3795 | 17218 | 25492 | 901 | 2.50 |
El Pollo Loco currently has a consensus target price of $17.30, suggesting a potential upside of 11.25%. As a group, “Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure” companies have a potential upside of 58.42%. Given El Pollo Loco’s peers higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe El Pollo Loco has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.
Summary
El Pollo Loco beats its peers on 7 of the 13 factors compared.
El Pollo Loco Company Profile
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. The company was formerly known as Chicken Acquisition Corp. and changed its name to El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. in April 2014. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California.
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