Tieton Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,033,917 El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. $LOCO

Tieton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,033,917 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $17,535,000. El Pollo Loco makes up approximately 5.0% of Tieton Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOCO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in El Pollo Loco during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,716,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,037,293 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,850,000 after purchasing an additional 502,378 shares during the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 193.4% in the 4th quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 745,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 491,184 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of El Pollo Loco by 197.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,008,000 after purchasing an additional 451,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in El Pollo Loco by 203.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 635,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,808,000 after buying an additional 426,320 shares in the last quarter. 81.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at El Pollo Loco

In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 132,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,644,979 shares in the company, valued at $62,948,787.33. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 558,803 shares of company stock worth $9,427,504 in the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

El Pollo Loco Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:LOCO opened at $15.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $466.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $17.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.10 and a 200-day moving average of $14.02.

El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $129.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.29 million. El Pollo Loco had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 10.87%. Equities analysts predict that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LOCO. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Freedom Capital raised shares of El Pollo Loco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of El Pollo Loco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.12.

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.