Sardar Biglari Sells 11,000 Shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $183,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,538,961 shares in the company, valued at $59,136,038.31. This represents a 0.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major 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 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 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 value of $382,166.00.
• On Monday, June 29th, Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total value of $1,658,000.00.
• On Friday, June 26th, Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total value of $1,675,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $16.53 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.62 and a 200 day moving average of $13.50. The company has a market cap of $503.34 million, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.02 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,037,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,850,000 after purchasing an additional 502,378 shares during the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 193.4% during 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. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 203.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,808,000 after buying an additional 426,320 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 211,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.88.

About El Pollo Loco

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.