SummerHaven Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 76,365 El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 76,365 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $741,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC owned 0.25% of El Pollo Loco as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LOCO. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 31.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,229 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the third quarter worth $107,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth $110,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $10.22 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.43. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $8.29 and a one year high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $306.09 million, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.98.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $121.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.57 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 5.39%. Analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

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.