Sardar Biglari Sells 6,611 Shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $110,469.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 116,695 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,973.45. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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 Thursday, July 30th, Sardar Biglari sold 546 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was 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 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total transaction of $1,675,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOCO traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.46. The stock had a trading volume of 172,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,114. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.21 million, a P/E ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.78. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.98 and a 1-year high of $17.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.54.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.02 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the 3rd quarter valued at $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Benchmark raised 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. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.