El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sardar Biglari Sells 20,000 Shares

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.73, for a total value of $334,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 106,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,780,440.06. This trade represents a 15.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, August 5th, Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00.
• 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $183,810.00.
• 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 transaction 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 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 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 Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LOCO traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.99. The company had a trading volume of 327,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,452. The company has a market capitalization of $517.43 million, a PE ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.65. 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 one year low of $8.98 and a one year high of $17.40.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%.The business had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.02 million. On average, equities analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LOCO. DA Davidson increased their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the third 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 stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 1st quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth about $97,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.