El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sardar Biglari Sells 132,421 Shares

Key Points

• Major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of El Pollo Loco on July 1 at an average price of $17.27, totaling about $2.29 million. After the sale, he still owned 3,644,979 shares, a 3.51% decrease in his position.
• Biglari has been actively trimming his stake with additional sales on June 26, June 29, June 30, and July 2, including two 100,000-share transactions. The recent trades suggest a sustained reduction in his holdings rather than a one-off sale.
• El Pollo Loco’s stock has been trading near its 52-week high, opening at $16.30 after the disclosure, with a 52-week range of $8.98 to $17.40. The company also recently reported earnings and approved a $40 million share repurchase plan, which may support investor sentiment.

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total value of $2,286,910.67. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,644,979 shares in the company, valued at $62,948,787.33. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases 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 stock was sold at an average price of $16.92, for a total value of $161,163.00.
• 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total value of $1,675,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $16.30 on Tuesday. 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 quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.83. The company has a market capitalization of $496.33 million, a PE ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 0.78.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.02 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position 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 in the third quarter worth approximately $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LOCO shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings cut El Pollo Loco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded El Pollo Loco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.88.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.