Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 56,039 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $950,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC owned 0.18% of El Pollo Loco as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the second quarter worth about $41,716,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,013,373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,905,000 after purchasing an additional 12,072 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,580,000 after buying an additional 16,867 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,037,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,850,000 after buying an additional 502,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tieton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,535,000. 81.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
LOCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson raised their price target on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Benchmark lifted their price target on El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.12.
El Pollo Loco Stock Performance
NASDAQ LOCO opened at $15.20 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.38. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $17.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.54 million, a PE ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.78.
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.29 million. Analysts predict 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 buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 3,644,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,948,787.33. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 558,803 shares of company stock valued at $9,427,504. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
El Pollo Loco 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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