El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 382,696 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in El Pollo Loco were worth $4,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Biglari Sardar lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 307.7% in the 3rd quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 489,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,703,000 after buying an additional 369,247 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 372.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 70,409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 55,510 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 453,422 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 159,000 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 84,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 39,824 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 411,298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,635,000 after purchasing an additional 75,542 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 2.2 %

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $10.22 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.23. The stock has a market cap of $304.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.50. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.17 and a 52 week high of $14.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. The firm had revenue of $114.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. On average, analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LOCO. StockNews.com raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company.

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.