Q4 2017 EPS Estimates for El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Decreased by SunTrust Banks

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El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Equities research analysts at SunTrust Banks cut their Q4 2017 earnings estimates for El Pollo Loco Holdings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. SunTrust Banks analyst J. Bartlett now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.14 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.15.

El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco Holdings had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $99.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. El Pollo Loco Holdings’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis.

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Several other analysts also recently weighed in on LOCO. Jefferies Group LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings in a research note on Wednesday. BidaskClub downgraded El Pollo Loco Holdings from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research upgraded El Pollo Loco Holdings from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on El Pollo Loco Holdings from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 9th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded El Pollo Loco Holdings from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.25.

Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO) opened at 13.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.86. The company has a market capitalization of $500.07 million, a P/E ratio of 28.89 and a beta of 0.33. El Pollo Loco Holdings has a one year low of $10.08 and a one year high of $14.85.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings by 0.9% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Alpha Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings during the first quarter worth approximately $138,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,650 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings by 4.3% in the first quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans now owns 12,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 15,797 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.26% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Holdings Company Profile

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc specializes in fire-grilling citrus-marinated chicken and operates in the limited service restaurant (LSR) segment. The Company’s menu features its signature product, citrus-marinated fire-grilled chicken, and a range of Mexican-inspired entrees that it creates from chicken.