El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, a decline of 12.0% from the October 15th total of 1,250,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 296,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. TheStreet downgraded El Pollo Loco from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 20,273 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 73.1% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,755 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 5.8% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 21,730 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,078 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 2.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 57,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.64% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOCO traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.76. 157,887 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 404,077. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.66 and a 200 day moving average of $9.35. El Pollo Loco has a twelve month low of $8.11 and a twelve month high of $13.00.

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 franchised restaurants located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Utah, and Louisiana. It also licenses its brand to restaurants in the Philippines.