William Blair Forecasts El Pollo Loco FY2026 Earnings

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair issued their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for El Pollo Loco in a report issued on Monday, January 20th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.99 for the year. The consensus estimate for El Pollo Loco’s current full-year earnings is $0.83 per share.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.04. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 5.11%. The firm had revenue of $120.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.03 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis.

Separately, StockNews.com cut El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $11.75 on Thursday. El Pollo Loco has a 1-year low of $8.17 and a 1-year high of $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.48. The company has a market capitalization of $351.80 million, a PE ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Biglari Sardar boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 369,247 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter valued at $1,735,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in El Pollo Loco by 384.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 175,670 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 139,375 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco in the third quarter worth about $1,056,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 411,298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,635,000 after purchasing an additional 75,542 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.