William Blair Boosts Earnings Estimates for El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Equities researchers at William Blair upped their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of El Pollo Loco in a report issued on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $0.89 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $0.83. The consensus estimate for El Pollo Loco’s current full-year earnings is $0.79 per share.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $120.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.03 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 5.11%. El Pollo Loco’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $11.78 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. El Pollo Loco has a 52-week low of $8.17 and a 52-week high of $14.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.58 million, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 1.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 321.8% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 145,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 111,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,323,373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,890,000 after buying an additional 67,368 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 797.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 102,257 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 90,860 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,056,000. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 197.2% in the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 491,244 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 325,963 shares during the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco

In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari acquired 43,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.59 per share, for a total transaction of $586,557.99. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 364,731 shares in the company, valued at $4,956,694.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 189,177 shares of company stock worth $2,483,158. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.