Insider Selling: El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells 9,525 Shares of Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 9,525 shares of El Pollo Loco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.92, for a total value of $161,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,635,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,511,881.68. This trade represents a 0.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• 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 stock was sold at an average price of $16.91, for a total value 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 value 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 value of $1,675,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of LOCO stock opened at $16.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.71 and a 200-day moving average of $12.83. The company has a market cap of $496.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 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.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $126.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. On average, equities analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 247,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after buying an additional 33,195 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 74.2% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 58,509 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 24,923 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 110,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 203.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,808,000 after purchasing an additional 426,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 1st quarter worth about $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

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.