Back in March we noted that the company gave its outlook for the 2015 full year. It expects net income per share, on a pro forma basis, to be in the range of $0.67 to $0.71, as well as growth in comparable restaurant sales in the range of 3% to 5%. The consensus estimates moved up slightly since then to EPS of $0.70 and $373.31 million in revenue from $0.68 in EPS on revenue of $369.30 million.
In the previous earnings release, the crazy chicken beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines while reporting strong increases in its comparable sales for the fourth quarter. This was also the 14th consecutive quarter with positive comparable restaurant sales growth.
After this past earnings report, investors were incredibly happy with the stock’s reaction. For the first quarter they will be looking for a repeat performance.
So far El Pollo Loco’s performance year to date has been spectacular, as the stock has risen roughly 41%. The stock currently trades at 41.4 times this year’s expected earnings.
Ahead of earnings, a couple of analysts weighed in on the company:
- Zacks downgraded El Pollo Loco to Hold from Buy.
- William Blair reiterated its Outperform rating for the stock.
The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $29.67, which implies only a slight upside from current prices.
Shares of the crazy chicken closed Wednesday up 1.3% at $28.22. In premarket trading Thursday, shares jumped an additional 2.8% to $29.00, seemingly in anticipation of earnings. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $18.48 to $41.70.
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