Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock has been listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the symbol “LOCO” since July 25, 2014.
As of March 1, 2024, there were approximately 58 holders of record of our common stock. The number of holders of record is based upon the actual number of holders registered at such date and does not include holders of shares in “street name” or persons, partnerships, associates, corporations, or other entities in security position listings maintained by depositories.
Dividends
In fiscal 2022, the Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $1.50 per share on our common stock. T he special dividend was paid on November 9, 2022, to stockholders of record, including holders of restricted stock, at the close of business on October 24, 2022. Our dividend is subject to the discretion and approval of our Board of Directors and our compliance with applicable law, and depends upon, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, level of indebtedness, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. We do not anticipate paying any such dividends for the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, restrictions imposed by applicable law and our financing agreements and other factors that our Board of Directors deems relevant.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table sets forth information with respect to the shares of our common stock we acquired during the fourth quarter ended December 27, 2023.
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Total Number of Shares Purchased
Average Price Paid Per Share
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (1)
Approximate Dollar Value of Shares That May Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
September 28, 2023 to October 25, 2023
—
$
-
—
$
-
October 26, 2023 to November 22, 2023
3,215
(2)
$
8.37
—
$
20,000,000
November 23, 2023 to December 27, 2023
1,500,000
(3)
$
8.40
1,500,000
$
7,400,000
Total
1,503,215
1,500,000
(1) On October 31, 2023, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program under which we are authorized to repurchase up to $20.0 million of shares of our common stock. The repurchase program will terminate on March 31, 2025, may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time, and does not obligate us to acquire any particular number of shares. During the fourth quarter ended December 27, 2023, we repurchased 1,500,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $8.40 per share pursuant the share repurchase program; therefore, $7,400,000 of our common stock remained available for repurchase under the share repurchase program at December 27, 2023.
(2) Consists of 3,215 shares acquired by the Company to satisfy employee tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of previously issued restricted stock.
(3) These shares were repurchased pursuant to a Stock Repurchase Agreement entered into with FS Equity Partners V, L.P. and FS Affiliates V, L.P. (the “Sellers”) on November 26, 2023 , pursuant to which we agreed to purchase an aggregate of 1,500,000 shares of our common stock from the Sellers at a price of $8.40 per share, representing the closing price of such shares as listed on Nasdaq on November 29, 2023, for a total purchase price of $12,600,000.
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Stock Performance Graph
The following graph and table illustrate the total cumulative shareholder return for (i) our common stock, (ii) the Nasdaq Composite Index and (iii) the Standard and Poor’s Composite 1500 Restaurants Index (formerly called the S&P Supercomposite Restaurants Index), for the five years ended December 27, 2023. The graph assumes the investment of $100 at the beginning of the period (at the closing price of our common stock on December 26, 2018) and the reinvestment of all dividends. Specifically, the graph assumes that the $1.50 per share special cash dividend paid to shareholders was reinvested in 2022. Stockholder returns over the indicated period should not be considered indicative of future stockholder returns.
The stock performance graph shall not be deemed soliciting material or to be filed with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Exchange Act or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, nor shall it be incorporated by reference into any past or future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or the Exchange Act, except to the extent we specifically request that it be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporate it by reference into a filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
Nasdaq
S&P Composite
Composite
1500
Date
LOCO
Index
Restaurants
December 26, 2018
$
100.00
$
100.00
$
100.00
December 24, 2019
$
99.67
$
136.69
$
122.86
December 30, 2020
$
120.60
$
198.10
$
146.90
December 29, 2021
$
92.78
$
242.03
$
179.28
December 28, 2022
$
65.96
$
163.28
$
163.44
December 27, 2023
$
59.93
$
236.17
$
189.14
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]