Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 56,924 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $789,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC owned about 0.19% of El Pollo Loco as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LOCO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in El Pollo Loco by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,580,000 after acquiring an additional 16,867 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,037,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,850,000 after acquiring an additional 502,378 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $7,794,000 after acquiring an additional 491,184 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,008,000 after acquiring an additional 451,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of El Pollo Loco by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 653,977 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,842,000 after purchasing an additional 26,027 shares during the period. 81.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.27, for a total value of $2,286,910.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,644,979 shares in the company, valued at $62,948,787.33. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 439,546 shares of company stock valued at $7,418,740. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LOCO. DA Davidson raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark upped their price target on El Pollo Loco from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.88.

El Pollo Loco Price Performance

Shares of LOCO stock opened at $15.93 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.48 and its 200 day moving average is $13.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $485.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.78. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.98 and a twelve month high of $17.40.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 5.87%.The business had revenue of $126.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.02 million. Research analysts expect that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

El Pollo Loco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 28th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

El Pollo Loco Company 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.