Sei Investments Co. Has $8.81 Million Stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 203.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 426,320 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 2.09% of El Pollo Loco worth $8,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,037,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,850,000 after purchasing an additional 502,378 shares in the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 193.4% in the fourth quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 745,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,794,000 after buying an additional 491,184 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after buying an additional 211,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 788.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 214,123 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,077,000 after buying an additional 190,015 shares during the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of LOCO stock opened at $16.46 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $8.98 and a 12-month high of $17.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.72 and a 200-day moving average of $13.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.78.

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

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

Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $110,469.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,949,973.45. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 457,703 shares of company stock worth $7,722,138. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOCO has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.