El Pollo Loco stock jumps on buyback, special dividend plans

Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings. [s: loco] jumped 15% after hours Tuesday after the Mexican-restaurant chain said its board had declared a special dividend of $1.50 per share and authorized a new stock buyback program of up to $20 million, saying it was in a “good position” to move ahead with the investor payouts. Management for the company said the dividend is payable on Nov. 9 to shareholders of record on Oct. 24. The buyback program begins immediately and ends on March 28, 2024. “Despite the challenges over the last couple of years we have continued to build our balance sheet and believe it is time to once again return capital to our shareholders reflecting our low leverage, asset light growth strategy and anticipated positive cash flow in the coming years,” Michael Maselli, chairman of the company’s board, said in a statement.