El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.8750.

Several research firms recently weighed in on LOCO. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total value of $2,286,910.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,644,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,948,787.33. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 457,703 shares of company stock valued at $7,722,138. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 13,095 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in El Pollo Loco by 197.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,008,000 after acquiring an additional 451,575 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 188,519 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 12,964 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter valued at about $240,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock opened at $16.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $501.21 million, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.72 and a 200-day moving average of $13.56. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.98 and a 1-year high of $17.40.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.02 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About El Pollo Loco

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.