Sei Investments Co. Has $8.81 Million Stake in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) by 203.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 426,320 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in El Pollo Loco were worth $8,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LOCO. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,958,000 after buying an additional 13,095 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the 1st 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. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 188,519 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after buying an additional 12,964 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $240,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOCO has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson raised 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 note on Monday, May 11th. 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. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company 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 given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco Stock Down 0.1%

LOCO stock opened at $16.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.21 million, a PE 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 business’s 50 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 results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.02 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at El Pollo Loco

In other news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total value of $2,286,910.67. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,644,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,948,787.33. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 457,703 shares of company stock valued at $7,722,138 in the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.