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

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 sale, the insider directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock 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 shares were sold at an average price of $17.06, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $1,352,000.00.
• On Monday, August 3rd, Sardar Biglari sold 20,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.73, for a total transaction 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 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 transaction of $110,469.81.

El Pollo Loco Stock Performance

NASDAQ LOCO opened at $15.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $458.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.77. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.98 and a twelve month high of $17.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its earnings results 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. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 6.96%. The business had revenue of $129.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.29 million. Sell-side analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,339,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 0.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 110,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in El Pollo Loco by 30.3% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 27,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in El Pollo Loco in the first quarter valued at approximately $88,000. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. 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 target on the stock. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned 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 target price of $17.30.

El Pollo Loco Company Profile

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.