El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells 80,000 Shares of Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,422 shares in the company, valued at $1,122,531.80. This represents a 54.64% 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, August 3rd, Sardar Biglari sold 20,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were 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 value of $9,118.20.
• On Wednesday, July 29th, Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was 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 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 stock was 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total transaction of $1,675,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

LOCO stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.99. 327,720 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 296,452. 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 52-week low of $8.98 and a 52-week high of $17.40. The stock has a market cap of $517.43 million, a P/E ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.82 and its 200 day moving average is $13.65.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.02 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOCO. 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. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $945,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 648.3% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 152,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after buying an additional 132,351 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 11,403.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 115,037 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 114,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the first quarter valued at approximately $789,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on LOCO. Freedom Capital raised El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.