El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
LOCO · Retail-Eating Places · 30.5M shares · -2%/yr ↓ buyback · EDGAR filings ↗
Net buyback after stock comp: $56M (gross $59M, SBC $3M)
Reference price $11.00 · est. market cap ~$335M — last insider sale, 2025-06-06 (estimated from the dated SEC Form 4 price × shares outstanding — not a live quote)
Grade
C58El Pollo Loco is a profitable but mid-pack regional restaurant chain with flat comparable sales and California cost pressures.
Strengths
- Positive returns (ROA 65.8th, ROE 54.3th), modest net income growth +3.1%, and $25M FCF
- Differentiated fire-grilled chicken concept with low leverage (debt/equity 0.18)
Risks
- Comparable sales essentially flat (system-wide +0.1%); California wage and tariff cost pressures
- Heavy California geographic concentration; low current ratio 0.32 and thin cash ($6.2M)
Notable findings
- Exec changeRecent 8-K item 5.02 8-K ↗
- Weak liquidityCurrent ratio 0.32 (<1)
- Buying back stockNet buyback — share count -2%/yr over 4y
Quarterly revenue
Last 4 quarters · from SEC filings.
Key metrics
Return on equity
9.1%
Return on assets
4.4%
ROIC
9.7%
Revenue growth (QoQ)
-5.9%
Net-income growth
3.1%
Debt / equity
0.2×
Net debt / EBITDA
0.8×
Current ratio
0.3×
Free cash flow
$25M
EBITDA
$58M
Tangible book value
$42M
Cash & investments
$6M
Insider transactions · last 18 months
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-29 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Tax withheld | 11K | $13.95 |
| 2026-05-29 | Fils Ira | Tax withheld | 2.1K | $13.95 |
| 2026-05-09 | Fils Ira | Tax withheld | 2.5K | $14.00 |
| 2026-03-17 | DAVILA TANA | Grant | 8.3K | — |
| 2026-03-17 | Faginas Cody Nancy | Grant | 8.3K | — |
| 2026-03-17 | Gonzalez Deborah | Grant | 8.3K | — |
| 2026-03-17 | GARRIDO FRANK | Grant | 8.3K | — |
| 2026-03-17 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Grant | 54K | — |
| 2026-03-17 | Taylor Joseph G | Grant | 8.3K | — |
| 2026-03-17 | Fils Ira | Grant | 15K | — |
| 2026-03-17 | Wright Robert D. | Grant | 8.3K | — |
| 2026-03-17 | BABB DOUGLAS J | Grant | 12K | — |
| 2026-03-11 | Fils Ira | Tax withheld | 2.3K | $11.10 |
| 2026-03-11 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Tax withheld | 12K | $11.10 |
| 2025-12-31 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Grant | 43K | — |
| 2025-12-31 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Tax withheld | 7.7K | $10.50 |
| 2025-08-23 | Fils Ira | Tax withheld | 4.8K | $10.68 |
| 2025-06-06 | Buller Mark | Sell | 11K | $11.00 |
| 2025-05-29 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Tax withheld | 11K | $9.90 |
| 2025-05-29 | Fils Ira | Tax withheld | 2.1K | $9.90 |
| 2025-05-29 | Hollandsworth Maria | Tax withheld | 2.8K | $9.90 |
| 2025-05-15 | Hollandsworth Maria | Tax withheld | 8.1K | $9.50 |
| 2025-05-09 | Fils Ira | Tax withheld | 2.5K | $9.01 |
| 2025-05-09 | Hollandsworth Maria | Tax withheld | 1.2K | $9.01 |
| 2025-03-11 | Borgese Samuel N. | Grant | 8.6K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Grant | 69K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Tax withheld | 4.0K | $10.42 |
| 2025-03-11 | Borgese Samuel N. | Grant | 8.6K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | Taylor Joseph G | Grant | 8.6K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | Buller Mark | Grant | 8.6K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | BABB DOUGLAS J | Grant | 8.6K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | Faginas Cody Nancy | Grant | 8.6K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | Hollandsworth Maria | Grant | 12K | $10.42 |
| 2025-03-11 | FLOYD WILLIAM R | Grant | 13K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | Fils Ira | Grant | 19K | — |
| 2025-03-11 | Gonzalez Deborah | Grant | 8.6K | — |
| 2025-03-07 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Grant | 45K | — |
| 2025-03-07 | Williams Elizabeth Goodman | Tax withheld | 5.6K | $10.63 |
All non-derivative Form 4 activity (SEC), newest first.
Notable events (8-K)
| Date | Items | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-29 | Exec/director changeShareholder voteExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-05-28 | Other | filing ↗ |
| 2026-05-07 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-03-12 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-01-28 | Exec/director changeReg FDExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2025-12-15 | Exec/director changeReg FDExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2025-11-20 | Exec/director change | filing ↗ |
| 2025-10-30 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
Recent filings
| Form | Filed | Period | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-K | 2026-05-29 | 2026-05-26 | 0001104659-26-068234 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-05-28 | 2026-05-28 | 0001104659-26-067507 ↗ |
| 10-Q | 2026-05-08 | 2026-04-01 | 0001606366-26-000038 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-05-07 | 2026-05-07 | 0001606366-26-000032 ↗ |
| 10-K | 2026-03-13 | 2025-12-31 | 0001606366-26-000017 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-03-12 | 2026-03-12 | 0001606366-26-000012 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-01-28 | 2026-01-27 | 0001104659-26-007246 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2025-12-15 | 2025-12-10 | 0001104659-25-121184 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2025-11-20 | 2025-11-20 | 0001606366-25-000056 ↗ |
| 10-Q | 2025-10-31 | 2025-09-24 | 0001606366-25-000050 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2025-10-30 | 2025-10-30 | 0001606366-25-000047 ↗ |
| 10-Q | 2025-08-01 | 2025-06-25 | 0001606366-25-000038 ↗ |