DA Davidson Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its price objective raised by DA Davidson from $13.00 to $15.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.99% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOCO traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $13.64. 133,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,529. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.89 million, a P/E ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. El Pollo Loco has a 1 year low of $8.87 and a 1 year high of $15.90.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%. Analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 17.7% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,590 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 11.5% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,413 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,492 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

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.