Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 55,510 Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) by 372.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,409 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 55,510 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.24% of El Pollo Loco worth $951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in El Pollo Loco by 91.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,094 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the third quarter worth approximately $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ LOCO traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 114,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,171. The company has a market capitalization of $346.99 million, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.45. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.17 and a 52 week high of $14.25. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $12.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.44.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $120.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.03 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.