El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, a decline of 16.5% from the February 28th total of 2,180,000 shares. Currently, 7.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 222,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $1,146,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at about $320,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at about $165,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $170,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Craig Hallum started coverage on El Pollo Loco in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock traded down $0.64 on Thursday, hitting $9.78. 88,612 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,604. El Pollo Loco has a 12-month low of $8.17 and a 12-month high of $14.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $291.22 million, a PE ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.08.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $114.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. Sell-side analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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.