El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sardar Biglari Sells 6,611 Shares

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $110,469.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,949,973.45. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $9,118.20.
• On Friday, July 17th, Sardar Biglari sold 11,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 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 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 Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $16.46 on Friday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.98 and a 12-month high of $17.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.21 million, a P/E ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.56.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $126.18 million during 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%. Equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position 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 during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One equities 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.