First Eagle Investment Management LLC Buys 159,000 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 54.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 453,422 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,000 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 1.51% of El Pollo Loco worth $5,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 17,165.8% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 27,798 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 27,637 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 198,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Olympiad Research LP bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $130,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,142,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock opened at $10.08 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.36. The company has a market capitalization of $300.15 million, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.50. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.17 and a 52 week high of $14.25.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

El Pollo Loco Company 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.