El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells $1,675,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of El Pollo Loco on June 26 at an average price of $16.75, generating $1.675 million and reducing his ownership by 2.5%.
• Biglari also sold another 122,600 shares in two subsequent trades on June 29 and June 30, indicating continued insider selling activity.
• El Pollo Loco shares were up 2.6% to $16.96, near their 52-week high, while the company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and authorized a $40 million share repurchase program.

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total transaction of $1,675,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,900,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,325,000. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• 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 shares were sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total transaction of $1,658,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of El Pollo Loco stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.96. 299,164 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 336,032. 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 $17.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $14.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.69. The company has a market cap of $516.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 0.81.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.02 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 11.04%. Equities 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 of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LOCO shares. Benchmark raised 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. Truist Financial upped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 1st quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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