Biglari Capital CORP. Buys Shares of 3,777,400 El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Biglari Capital CORP. purchased a new position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,777,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $64,064,704. El Pollo Loco makes up 0.0% of Biglari Capital CORP.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Biglari Capital CORP. owned approximately 12.41% of El Pollo Loco as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LOCO. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 4.8% in 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 increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,008,000 after buying an additional 451,575 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in El Pollo Loco by 7.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 188,519 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,942,000 after buying an additional 12,964 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the first quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth about $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on LOCO. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut El Pollo Loco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.13.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $15.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.98 and a 12-month high of $17.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.88 million, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.78.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 6.96%.The firm had revenue of $129.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $130.29 million. Equities research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,122,531.80. This trade represents a 54.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 558,803 shares of company stock worth $9,427,504 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.00% 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.