El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Share Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average on Insider Selling

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.01 and traded as high as $15.80. El Pollo Loco shares last traded at $15.77, with a volume of 519,701 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LOCO. Wall Street Zen downgraded El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Roth Capital assumed coverage on El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, El Pollo Loco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.30.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 6.0%

The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $479.88 million, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.21.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.24. The firm had revenue of $126.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.03 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 10.87%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Biglari Capital CORP. purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,064,704. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth about $1,841,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth about $2,550,000. Biglari Sardar purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth about $8,297,629. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth approximately $4,187,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LOCO) operates and franchises quick-service restaurants specializing in Mexican-inspired food and citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken. Its menu includes chicken meals, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salads, bowls and family meals, along with a variety of sides, beverages and desserts.

The company was founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, and expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first restaurant in Los Angeles. El Pollo Loco primarily serves customers through restaurants in the western and southwestern United States, particularly in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Texas.