El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $17.40 and last traded at $17.20, with a volume of 441129 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.96.

More El Pollo Loco News

Here are the key news stories impacting El Pollo Loco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: El Pollo Loco said it has entered its 10th state, marking a development milestone that underscores its nationwide expansion plan and could support future unit growth and sales. El Pollo Loco Marks Development Milestone as it Enters 10th State
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital reportedly issued bullish ratings on El Pollo Loco alongside other restaurant names, adding to the case that analysts see upside in the stock after recent earnings strength and operational improvement. Dutch Bros, First Watch, and El Pollo Loco land bull ratings from Freedom Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage discussing whether LOCO is a buy after Q1 earnings suggests investors are still digesting a stronger-than-expected quarter, which included EPS and revenue beats. El Pollo Loco (LOCO): Buy, sell, or hold post Q1 earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: New store openings, including the first El Pollo Loco location in Idaho and a planned opening in Lubbock, support the company’s growth narrative and could lift long-term sales expectations. In nationwide push, El Pollo Loco makes its debut in Idaho Lubbock 1st El Pollo Loco location set to open
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock is also being weighed by a recent insider sale from major shareholder Sardar Biglari, who sold 22,600 shares after earlier larger sales, which can pressure sentiment even though he still retains a large stake. Insider Selling: El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells 22,600 Shares

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $523.74 million, a PE ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.73.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The company had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.02 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total value of $1,658,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,800,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,004,000. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 222,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,715,166 over the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LOCO. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the first quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth about $97,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

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.