Sardar Biglari Sells 9,525 Shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 9,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.92, for a total transaction of $161,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,635,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,511,881.68. This trade represents a 0.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major 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, 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 transaction of $1,658,000.00.
• On Friday, June 26th, Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total transaction of $1,675,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of LOCO opened at $16.23 on Wednesday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $17.40. The company has a market capitalization of $494.20 million, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.87. 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 (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%. As a group, analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,013,373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,905,000 after purchasing an additional 12,072 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,580,000 after purchasing an additional 16,867 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $10,850,000 after buying an additional 502,378 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in El Pollo Loco by 197.4% during 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. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their price target on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

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.