El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells $2,286,910.67 in Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total transaction of $2,286,910.67. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,644,979 shares in the company, valued at $62,948,787.33. The trade was a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Sardar Biglari also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 2nd, Sardar Biglari sold 9,525 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.92, for a total transaction of $161,163.00.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Sardar Biglari sold 22,600 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.91, for a total transaction of $382,166.00.
• On Monday, June 29th, Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total value of $1,658,000.00.
• On Friday, June 26th, Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total value of $1,675,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

LOCO stock opened at $16.38 on Thursday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $17.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $498.77 million, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.90.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%. Equities research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LOCO. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 13,095 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,008,000 after buying an additional 451,575 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 7.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 188,519 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,942,000 after buying an additional 12,964 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco during the first quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the second quarter valued at about $240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ: LOCO) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken and complementary menu offerings. The company’s signature product is its marinated, flame-grilled chicken, which is prepared in an open-flame rotisserie and served in a variety of formats including tacos, burritos, bowls and salads. In addition to its core chicken offerings, El Pollo Loco menu items feature fresh-made salsas, guacamole, sides such as charro beans and fresh tortillas, as well as a selection of beverages and desserts.

Founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, by Juan Francisco Ochoa, the concept expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first U.S.