El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Price Target Raised to $16.00

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $14.00 to $16.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Benchmark’s target price points to a potential upside of 14.70% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on LOCO. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research downgraded El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $11.00 price objective on El Pollo Loco in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.38.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $13.95 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.45 and a 200 day moving average of $11.17. The company has a market capitalization of $417.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.88. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.29 and a 1-year high of $14.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $123.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.18 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 5.40%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the third quarter valued at approximately $741,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 20.5% in the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 359,396 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,486,000 after purchasing an additional 61,200 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 27.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 27,726 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 5,934 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 5,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the third quarter worth $112,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.