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

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Truist Financial from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 20.85% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,722,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,585. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $8.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.81. The company has a market capitalization of $309.62 million, a P/E ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. El Pollo Loco has a fifty-two week low of $8.11 and a fifty-two week high of $11.99.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 33.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 541,441 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,846,000 after purchasing an additional 134,673 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,162,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 183.7% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 46,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 30,068 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 101,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 55,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 355,759 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 93,476 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.