El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) Major Shareholder Sardar Biglari Sells 25,556 Shares of Stock

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 25,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $421,674.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,513,405 shares in the company, valued at $57,971,182.50. The trade was a 0.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 Friday, August 7th, Sardar Biglari sold 1,100 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.06, for a total value of $18,766.00.
• 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 stock was sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value 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.

El Pollo Loco Trading Down 1.5%

LOCO stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.70. 246,222 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 243,628. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.98 and a 52-week high of $17.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.07 and its 200-day moving average is $15.02. The company has a market cap of $477.75 million, a P/E ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.77. 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 (NASDAQ:LOCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On El Pollo Loco

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco in the third quarter valued at approximately $972,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 302,399 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,339,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 60.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,927 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 7,113 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at $486,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,187,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of El Pollo Loco in a research report on Friday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Freedom Capital raised El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, El Pollo Loco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.30.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the El Pollo Loco brand. The company specializes in Mexican-inspired meals centered on citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken, prepared using traditional cooking methods. Its menu includes chicken meals, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, salads, bowls, family meals and a variety of side dishes, beverages and desserts.

El Pollo Loco was founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, and opened its first restaurant in the United States in 1980.