El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells $110,469.81 in Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $110,469.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,695 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,973.45. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, July 30th, Sardar Biglari sold 546 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $9,118.20.
• On Friday, July 17th, Sardar Biglari sold 11,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $183,810.00.
• On Monday, July 13th, Sardar Biglari sold 75,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total value of $1,255,500.00.
• 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 Wednesday, July 1st, Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total transaction of $2,286,910.67.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Sardar Biglari sold 22,600 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $1,675,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of LOCO traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 172,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,114. The company has a market cap of $501.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.67 and a 200 day moving average of $13.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $17.40.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The business 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 211,900 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth $945,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 648.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 152,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 132,351 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 11,403.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 115,037 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 114,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco during the first quarter worth $789,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on LOCO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Freedom Capital raised shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.88.

About El Pollo Loco

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.