Friday, July 6, 2018

El Pollo LoCo (LOCO) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Investment Research

El Pollo LoCo (NASDAQ:LOCO) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

According to Zacks, “El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, develops, franchises, licenses and operates quick-service restaurants under the name El Pollo Loco. The restaurants specializes in flame-grilled chicken in a variety of contemporary Mexican-influenced entrees, including specialty chicken burritos, chicken quesadillas, chicken tortilla soup, Pollo Bowls and Pollo Salads. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. “

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Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. ValuEngine upgraded shares of El Pollo LoCo from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 26th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of El Pollo LoCo from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $11.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of El Pollo LoCo in a research note on Monday, March 12th. Finally, SunTrust Banks set a $11.00 target price on shares of El Pollo LoCo and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.40.

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $11.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $440.45 million, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. El Pollo LoCo has a 1-year low of $9.05 and a 1-year high of $13.85.

El Pollo LoCo (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $105.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.27 million. El Pollo LoCo had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 9.19%. El Pollo LoCo’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. research analysts expect that El Pollo LoCo will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo LoCo by 351.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 129,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 100,845 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of El Pollo LoCo by 224.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 25,179 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of El Pollo LoCo by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 49,531 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of El Pollo LoCo by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 276,069 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 14,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of El Pollo LoCo by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,869,119 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,404,000 after purchasing an additional 69,526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.43% of the company’s stock.

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. The company specializes in offering flame-grilled chicken. As of March 8, 2018, it had approximately 475 company-owned and franchised restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and Utah.

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