El Pollo Loco Misses Q2 Earnings Expectations Shares Drop 14%

El Pollo LoCo Holdings has a 52 week low of $17.51 and a 52 week high of $40.89.

During the company’s second quarter, which ended in early-July, El Pollo Loco saw its earnings per share shrink even as its net profits rose modestly on a year-over-year basis.

Franchise revenue in the second quarter of 2015 increased 6.0% to $5.9 million, from $5.5 million in the second quarter of 2014. The shares had closed at $18.36 and were down 8.1 percent this year through the end of regular trading on Thursday.

“On Thursday, the company said that increased prices for its value menu offerings, like the well-liked “$5 under 500 calories” combos caused a drop in the number of customers. The 50-Day Moving Average price is $19.61 and the 200 Day Moving Average price is recorded at $23.66.

El Pollo LoCo Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th.

Jefferies has a Buy rating. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of El Pollo LoCo Holdings in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. The firm has a market capitalization of $687.36 million and a PE ratio of 15.33. Disappointing same-restaurant sales dented earnings for the quarter, as El Pollo Loco reported a 1.3% spike – far below consensus estimates of a 3.2% increase. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01, Analyst Ratings Network.com reports.

In other El Pollo LoCo Holdings news, Director Samuel N. Borgese sold 25,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The 52-week high of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. The stock presently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $27.13. During last 3 month period, -18.48% of total institutional ownership has changed in the company shares. Also, Director Samuel N. Borgese sold 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The total value of the transaction was worth $530,229. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

El Pollo Loco also said it would open three fewer franchised restaurants this year than it expected.

The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based restaurant operator, whose name in Spanish means “the insane chicken”, offers a Mexico- inspired menu.