El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Rating Increased to Buy at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Benchmark currently has $14.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on LOCO. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research report on Friday, March 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 16.9%

Shares of LOCO opened at $12.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 1.00. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.29 and a 1 year high of $13.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.04. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 5.40%.The firm had revenue of $123.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.18 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 495.3% in the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,231,087 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,302 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,037,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,850,000 after purchasing an additional 502,378 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 193.4% during the 4th quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 745,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 491,184 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $7,008,000 after purchasing an additional 451,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 211,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about El Pollo Loco

Here are the key news stories impacting El Pollo Loco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — LOCO reported $0.25 EPS vs. $0.21 consensus and revenue slightly above estimates; management emphasized improving margins and profitability. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Same-store sales growth of ~2.1% in Q4, signaling steady demand in existing restaurants — supports revenue momentum and franchise economics. OCBJ Article
• Positive Sentiment: Company guidance and commentary point to faster expansion and pipeline — targeting 18–20 new restaurants in 2026 and seeing strong demand in new markets, which implies growth leverage over time. MSN Expansion Article
• Positive Sentiment: Operational and culinary investments highlighted as paying off — improvements to menu and operations support same-store sales and margin expansion. Yahoo Finance Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Benchmark upgraded LOCO to Buy with a $14 target, signaling bullish broker sentiment and providing upside vs. recent levels. Benzinga Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $13 but maintained a Hold rating — a modestly constructive move but not a directional endorsement. Benzinga Truist Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and analyst write-ups provide detail for investors to parse unit-level trends, margin drivers and capital allocation — useful for validating the sustainability of the beat. Earnings Call Transcript

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.