William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 842,027 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 71.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 329,208 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 842,027 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in El Pollo Loco were worth $3,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Diversified Trust Co. bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the fourth quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the third quarter valued at $112,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial upped 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, March 13th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO opened at $13.86 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $422.11 million, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.90. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.98 and a 12-month high of $15.90.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%. Equities analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.