Sardar Biglari Sells 1,100 Shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.06, for a total transaction of $18,766.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 65,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,776.32. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 Wednesday, August 5th, Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00.
• On Monday, August 3rd, Sardar Biglari sold 20,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.73, for a total transaction of $334,600.00.
• 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 transaction of $9,118.20.
• On Wednesday, July 29th, Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $110,469.81.
• 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 value 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 value of $2,286,910.67.
• 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 value 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.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of LOCO traded down $0.37 on Tuesday, reaching $14.83. The stock had a trading volume of 310,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,673. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.44. 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 market capitalization of $451.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.79.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.29 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 6.96%. Sell-side analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LOCO shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Freedom Capital raised shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the first quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the third quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

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.