El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sardar Biglari Sells 1,100 Shares

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 65,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,776.32. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Large 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 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 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 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 value 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 value 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 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.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 2.4%

El Pollo Loco stock opened at $14.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.98 and a 52 week high of $17.40. The company has a market capitalization of $451.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.81.

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. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.29 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.12.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 0.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 110,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,413 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,492 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares during the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.