El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells $1,352,000.00 in Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,422 shares in the company, valued at $1,122,531.80. The trade was a 54.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 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, August 3rd, Sardar Biglari sold 20,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value 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 value of $110,469.81.
• On Friday, July 17th, Sardar Biglari sold 11,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was 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 shares were 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 shares were 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.
• 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 7.4%

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock opened at $15.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $461.62 million, a P/E ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.34. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $8.98 and a one year high of $17.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.74.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.29 million. On average, 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 approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 211,900 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth $945,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 648.3% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 152,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,117,000 after buying an additional 132,351 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11,403.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter worth about $789,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.