Sardar Biglari Sells 1,100 Shares of El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCOGet Free Report) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.06, for a total transaction of $18,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 65,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,776.32. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 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 Wednesday, August 5th, Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total value of $1,352,000.00.
  • On Monday, August 3rd, Sardar Biglari sold 20,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.73, for a total value of $334,600.00.
  • On Thursday, July 30th, Sardar Biglari sold 546 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total transaction of $9,118.20.
  • On Wednesday, July 29th, Sardar Biglari sold 6,611 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $110,469.81.
  • On Friday, July 17th, Sardar Biglari sold 11,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $183,810.00.
  • On Monday, July 13th, Sardar Biglari sold 75,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $1,255,500.00.
  • 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 transaction of $161,163.00.
  • 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 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 transaction of $1,658,000.00.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $15.20 on Thursday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.98 and a twelve month high of $17.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $462.54 million, a P/E ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.84.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCOGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $129.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.29 million. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 6.96%. As a group, research analysts forecast that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LOCO. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.12.

View Our Latest Research Report on LOCO

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 110,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 11.5% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,413 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,492 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About El Pollo Loco

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO)

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