El Pollo Loco Chokes on Guidance
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOCO) reported fourth quarter financial results after markets closed on Thursday. The company had $0.15 in earnings per share (EPS) on $86 million in revenue compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called…
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El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOCO) reported fourth quarter financial results after markets closed on Thursday. The company had $0.15 in earnings per share (EPS) on $86 million in revenue compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.13 in EPS on $88.03 million in revenue. The same period from last year had $0.14 in EPS on $89.97 million in revenue.
System-wide comparable restaurant sales grew 1.8%, including a 1.0% increase for company-operated restaurants, and a 2.4% increase for franchised restaurants.
In terms of the outlook for the full year, the company expects to have EPS in the range of $0.70 to $0.74 and system-wide comparable sales growth in the low single digits. There are consensus estimates that call for $0.74 in EPS on $395.6 million in revenue.
[nativounit]
On the books, cash and cash equivalents totaled $6.1 million at the end of the quarter compared to $11.5 million in the same period last year.
Steve Sather, President and CEO of El Pollo Loco, commented:
Development in the fourth quarter was robust, as we opened 11 company-operated and 3 franchised restaurants. We expect to open 18-22 company-operated restaurants and 10-15 franchised restaurants in 2016. The runway for growth is long, and we remain excited about the long term opportunity to bring our flame-grilled, citrus marinated chicken to customers across the country.
Shares of El Pollo Loco closed Thursday up 1.5% at $15.13, with a consensus analyst price target of $16.14 and a 52-week trading range of $9.58 to $29.20. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was down 9% at $13.75 in the after-hours trading session.
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Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics. Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications. A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.
