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Should Value Investors Buy El Pollo Loco (LOCO) Stock?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is El Pollo Loco (LOCO - Free Report) . LOCO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and an A for Value. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 13.99 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 22.48. LOCO's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.11 and as low as 9.75, with a median of 12.59, all within the past year.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that LOCO has a P/CF ratio of 8.50. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. LOCO's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 19.31. LOCO's P/CF has been as high as 9.95 and as low as 6.06, with a median of 7.12, all within the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that El Pollo Loco is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, LOCO feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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