Insider Selling: El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells $161,163.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 9,525 shares of El Pollo Loco on July 2 at an average price of $16.92, totaling about $161,163. After the sale, he still held 3.64 million shares worth roughly $61.5 million.
• Biglari has been actively trimming his stake with several other recent sales, including 132,421 shares on July 1 and 100,000 shares each on June 29 and June 26.
• El Pollo Loco recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and its board authorized a $40 million share buyback plan covering up to 9.5% of the company.

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 9,525 shares of El Pollo Loco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.92, for a total value of $161,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,635,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,511,881.68. This represents a 0.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Large 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 Wednesday, July 1st, Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were 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 stock was 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 shares were sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total transaction of $1,675,000.00.

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El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

Shares of LOCO stock opened at $16.30 on Tuesday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.98 and a 12 month high of $17.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $14.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.83. The firm has a market cap of $496.33 million, a PE 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 (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.02 million. Equities research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,037,293 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,850,000 after acquiring an additional 502,378 shares during the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 193.4% in the 4th quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 745,140 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 491,184 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,008,000 after purchasing an additional 451,575 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 203.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,808,000 after purchasing an additional 426,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,296 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 211,900 shares during the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LOCO shares. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, March 13th. 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 research report on Monday, May 11th. Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on El Pollo Loco from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.88.

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.

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