Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 382,696 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.28% of El Pollo Loco worth $4,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Biglari Sardar boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 307.7% in the third quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 489,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,703,000 after acquiring an additional 369,247 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 453,422 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 159,000 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,142,000. Monimus Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth about $935,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 411,298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,635,000 after purchasing an additional 75,542 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LOCO shares. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $10.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.23. The stock has a market cap of $304.32 million, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.50. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.17 and a 52 week high of $14.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

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.