Prudential Financial Inc. Grows Stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) by 332.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,739 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 222,704 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.97% of El Pollo Loco worth $3,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,094 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the third quarter worth about $153,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the third quarter worth about $27,000. State Street Corp raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 593,425 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $8,130,000 after acquiring an additional 14,692 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 99.2% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 60,541 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 30,143 shares during the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of LOCO stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $9.28. 491,121 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,324. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.17 and a 1 year high of $14.25. The company has a market capitalization of $276.33 million, a P/E ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm's 50-day moving average is $11.14 and its 200 day moving average is $11.98.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $113.19 million. Equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

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.