Short Interest in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Decreases By 16.5%

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, a decline of 16.5% from the February 28th total of 2,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 222,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.2 days. Currently, 7.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Biglari Sardar lifted its position in El Pollo Loco by 307.7% during the third quarter. Biglari Sardar now owns 489,247 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,703,000 after purchasing an additional 369,247 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 372.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 70,409 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 55,510 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 159,000 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.6% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 84,247 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 39,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 411,298 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,635,000 after acquiring an additional 75,542 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 7.5 %

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $9.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 616,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,414. El Pollo Loco has a 52 week low of $8.17 and a 52 week high of $14.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $11.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $276.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.35.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last released 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.19 million. Equities analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LOCO shares. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Craig Hallum began 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 objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st.

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.