El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO – Get Free Report) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.75, for a total transaction of $1,675,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,900,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,325,000. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% 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 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 transaction 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 value of $1,658,000.00.
El Pollo Loco Trading Down 3.0%
LOCO stock opened at $16.68 on Friday. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.98 and a 12-month high of $17.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.60 and its 200 day moving average is $12.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $507.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.78.
El Pollo Loco declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LOCO. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of El Pollo Loco in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price target 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. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.88.
Read Our Latest Analysis on El Pollo Loco
Institutional Trading of El Pollo Loco
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LOCO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,013,373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,905,000 after acquiring an additional 12,072 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in El Pollo Loco by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,580,000 after purchasing an additional 16,867 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $10,850,000 after acquiring an additional 502,378 shares in the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 193.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 741,793 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,195,000 after buying an additional 15,400 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Stories Impacting El Pollo Loco
Here are the key news stories impacting El Pollo Loco this week:
- Positive Sentiment: El Pollo Loco is expanding its restaurant footprint, with first-time openings in Idaho and a new location in Lubbock, Texas, plus opening-day promotions that could help raise brand awareness and drive sales. El Pollo Loco Opens in Idaho for First Time
- Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital reportedly issued bullish ratings on El Pollo Loco, adding to the view that the stock may still have upside after its recent operating improvement. Dutch Bros, First Watch, and El Pollo Loco land bull ratings from Freedom Capital
- Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary is questioning how to trade LOCO after first-quarter earnings, but the company had already posted a solid beat on EPS and revenue in its last report, so the market may be weighing valuation rather than fundamentals alone. El Pollo Loco (LOCO): Buy, sell, or hold post Q1 earnings?
- Neutral Sentiment: The company’s recent earnings and buyback authorization remain supportive longer-term signals, including a 40 million dollar repurchase plan that may help offset share-price weakness. Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner: El Pollo Loco’s Turnaround Recipe
- Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold additional shares this week, following earlier large sales, which can pressure sentiment because investors often read insider selling as a sign of reduced confidence or profit-taking. Insider Selling: El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sells 22,600 Shares
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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