El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells $1,255,500.00 in Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $1,255,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,560,454 shares in the company, valued at $59,601,999.96. The trade was a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• 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 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 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 Price Performance

NASDAQ LOCO traded up $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $16.87. The stock had a trading volume of 25,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,782. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.99 and a 200-day moving average of $13.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.34. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.98 and a 52-week high of $17.40. The company has a market capitalization of $513.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 0.78.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.02 million. 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 of Directors has authorized 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 generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Freedom Capital raised shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.88.

Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the first quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $97,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.