El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sardar Biglari Sells 5,984 Shares of Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 5,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $98,736.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,494,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,655,158. The trade was a 0.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Sardar Biglari also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, November 4th, Sardar Biglari sold 13,169 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $217,288.50.
• On Friday, October 16th, Sardar Biglari sold 25,556 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $421,674.00.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

El Pollo Loco stock traded down $1.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.88. The stock had a trading volume of 703,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,072. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.99 and a 1 year high of $17.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $15.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.17. The stock has a market cap of $452.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.85.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.24. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 6.96%. The business had revenue of $126.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.03 million. As a group, analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting El Pollo Loco

Here are the key news stories impacting El Pollo Loco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: System-wide same-store sales grew 5% in Q3, while digital sales accounted for 31% of system sales—signs of continued customer demand and digital-channel traction. El Pollo Loco: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Management plans to open 25–30 restaurants in 2027 and projects approximately 4.5% comparable-sales growth for 2026, indicating continued expansion and sales momentum. El Pollo Loco expansion and sales outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 adjusted earnings were $0.24 per share, matching analysts’ consensus. El Pollo Loco Q3 earnings match estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue was $126.31 million, slightly below the $127.03 million analyst estimate. EPS also fell from $0.27 in the year-ago quarter to $0.24, which may weigh on sentiment despite meeting expectations. El Pollo Loco Q3 earnings report

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 302,399 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,339,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 110,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,534,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 419.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,563 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 30.3% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 27,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Roth Capital began coverage on El Pollo Loco in a research note on Friday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.30.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LOCO) operates and franchises quick-service restaurants specializing in Mexican-inspired food and citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken. Its menu includes chicken meals, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salads, bowls and family meals, along with a variety of sides, beverages and desserts.

The company was founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, and expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first restaurant in Los Angeles. El Pollo Loco primarily serves customers through restaurants in the western and southwestern United States, particularly in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Texas.