Added to YB: 2026-10-08
Pitch date: 2026-10-04
LOCO [bullish]
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
+14.45%
current return
Author Info
Investing w/ Martin is a former poker pro. Now I split my time between programming and investing. Switched from indexing to active mid-2022. Beat SPY every year since. Returned 30% in 2023, 71% in 2024, and ~35% YTD. I run an 85% net long/short book atm. Sign up for the newsletter.
Company Info
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.
Market Cap
$438.2M
Pitch Price
$14.26
Price Target
18.00 (+10%)
Dividend
N/A
EV/EBITDA
7.09
P/E
12.29
EV/Sales
1.29
Sector
Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure
Category
turnaround
A small QSR spot - El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
LOCO: El Pollo Loco offers a modest, lower-conviction turnaround bet at ~12.5x LTM earnings, an 8% earnings yield and 6.3x guided adjusted EBITDA, with 3.9% latest-quarter comparable sales growth, 4% full-year systemwide guidance and 19.1% restaurant-level margins. An $18 one-year target implies 27% upside; the larger opportunity is national expansion, supported by value positioning, Queens SNAP restaurant-meals access and better franchise economics, though the Queens rollout remains unproven.
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