El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Price Target Raised to $13.00

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.55% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research cut El Pollo Loco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $11.00 price objective on El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, El Pollo Loco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,279,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,810. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.49. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.29 and a 1-year high of $13.07. The company has a market capitalization of $383.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.00.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $123.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.18 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 5.39%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the 3rd 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. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Key El Pollo Loco News

Here are the key news stories impacting El Pollo Loco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus: LOCO reported $0.25 EPS vs. consensus $0.21 and revenue of $123.5M vs. $122.2M, signaling modest but tangible upside to estimates. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Same-store sales improvement: Management reported +2.1% same-store sales in Q4, indicating recovering traffic and pricing execution. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Franchise expansion accelerating: Company plans 18–20 net new restaurants in 2026 and says demand in new markets supports faster buildout — a growth driver for revenue and franchising royalties. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Culinary and ops investments showing returns: Company commentary and coverage note that menu innovation and operational changes are improving guest demand and unit economics. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Benchmark raised LOCO from Hold to Buy with a $14 price target, providing a broker-driven catalyst and signaling confidence in the turnaround. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and transcript available — provide detail on margin drivers, labor/food costs and unit-level performance; useful for modeling near-term margins. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional media snapshots and analyst write-ups summarize the quarter and compare metrics to estimates — helpful context but largely reiterative of results. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet / liquidity caution: While debt is low, reported current and quick ratios remain weak, highlighting limited near-term liquidity headroom if sales slow or cost inflation resumes. (See company release for full financials.) Read More.

El Pollo Loco Company 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.