El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells $110,469.81 in Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of El Pollo Loco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $110,469.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 116,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,949,973.45. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• 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 value of $9,118.20.
• 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 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 shares were 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 transaction of $2,286,910.67.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Sardar Biglari sold 22,600 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO opened at $16.46 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.72 and a 200 day moving average of $13.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.78. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.98 and a 12-month high of $17.40.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.02 million. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $10,850,000 after acquiring an additional 502,378 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 193.4% during the 4th quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 745,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 491,184 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 197.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,008,000 after purchasing an additional 451,575 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 203.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,808,000 after purchasing an additional 426,320 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 211,900 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.