Q1 EPS Estimates for El Pollo Loco Boosted by William Blair

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair lifted their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for El Pollo Loco in a research note issued to investors on Friday, March 7th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $0.20 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.19. The consensus estimate for El Pollo Loco’s current full-year earnings is $0.83 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for El Pollo Loco’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.29 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.94 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.00 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Craig Hallum started coverage on El Pollo Loco in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Monday.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO opened at $10.60 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.59 and a 200-day moving average of $12.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.35 million, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.50. El Pollo Loco has a 12-month low of $8.17 and a 12-month high of $14.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $114.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at about $70,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 235.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 5,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at about $107,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc, 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.