Sardar Biglari Sells 11,000 Shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $183,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,538,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,136,038.31. This trade represents a 0.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% 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 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 stock was 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 shares were 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 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 Stock Performance

El Pollo Loco stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $16.38. The stock had a trading volume of 38,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,719. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $498.68 million, a PE ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.78. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $17.40.

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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOCO shares. Benchmark increased 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.