El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Price Target Increased to $12.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its price objective lifted by Truist Financial from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO stock opened at $10.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $321.78 million, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.85. El Pollo Loco has a 12-month low of $8.11 and a 12-month high of $11.99.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.08. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 5.64%. The business had revenue of $116.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 147,221 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 11,025 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 38.1% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 77,008 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 21,230 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 46.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,648 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 14,104 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at $302,000. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at $7,746,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.