Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 59.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 571,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 211,900 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned 1.91% of El Pollo Loco worth $5,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the third quarter worth about $97,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11,403.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 115,037 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 114,037 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of LOCO opened at $14.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.32. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $8.98 and a one year high of $15.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $452.79 million, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.79.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.02 million. On average, analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LOCO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco 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.