Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 13,483 El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 13,483 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $156,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LOCO. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the third quarter worth $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in El Pollo Loco by 91.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,094 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the third quarter worth about $153,000. Finally, Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOCO. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of LOCO opened at $10.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.17 and a 1 year high of $14.25.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. The company had revenue of $114.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco Profile

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.