El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Director Sells 20,011 Shares of Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) Director Samuel N. Borgese sold 20,011 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.06, for a total value of $221,321.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,846.90. This represents a 33.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 486,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 269,281. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.01. The company has a market capitalization of $276.33 million, a P/E ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.17 and a fifty-two week high of $14.25.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $114.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LOCO. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 91.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,094 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in El Pollo Loco by 235.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,389 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 5,187 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter valued at about $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiary, El Pollo Loco, Inc, develops, franchises, licenses, and operates quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco name. It operates and franchises restaurants located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and Louisiana. It also licenses its brand to restaurants in the Philippines.