Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of El Pollo Loco Call Options (NASDAQ:LOCO)

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 4,826 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,994% compared to the typical daily volume of 156 call options.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 16.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO opened at $10.01 on Friday. El Pollo Loco has a 52-week low of $8.11 and a 52-week high of $11.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.83. The firm has a market cap of $312.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.44.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $116.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.09 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 5.45%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 285.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 6,176 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 1,074.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 9,264 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the third quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth about $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LOCO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Truist Financial upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

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.