Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss the surge in stock for El Pollo Loco following a $20 million buyback.

Video Transcript

BRIAN SOZZI: Shares of El Pollo Loco seeing a pop after the restaurant chain declared a special dividend of $1.50 per share in a new stock buyback program of up to $20 million. So in the grand scheme of things, look, this is not like McDonald's. Not a same sized chain, over 500 restaurants, $20 million buyback. But the market is liking this.

I will say this. They were rumored to be taken over or potentially bought out in January. But when you see a company come out here and pay a special dividend, when you had that type of speculation swirling, I would say a deal is off the table because they're essentially giving cash away to their shareholders. If you are near a deal or potentially looking to be acquired, you would keep that cash on your balance sheet.

But again, an interesting chain, good food. I would characterize them as a high end Boston Market. I know it's not going to win me any fans at El Pollo Loco, but I'm looking at the website. That's my first thought.

JULIE HYMAN: Have you eaten it?

BRIAN SOZZI: I have never eaten there.

JULIE HYMAN: They're not around.

BRIAN SOZZI: They're not around here.

JULIE HYMAN: They're not around here.

BRIAN SOZZI: Not around here.

JULIE HYMAN: The stock is down more than 30% year to date, despite what you were talking about, that bump that they got from the little bit of deal chatter there. So when you see something like this, it's sort of like the company trying to put a floor under the stock after it's seen that tumble, you know, saying, please come back. We'll give you a little treat, right, at the end of your meal, so to speak. And so it's working today. We'll see if there's any more sustained move and if, indeed, it sets that floor under the stock.

BRIAN SOZZI: They still sell taco bowls. Remember taco bowls were big in the late '80s?

BRAD SMITH: Well, I mean, they're still kind of big, right?

JULIE HYMAN: What does Chipotle sell? What is that?

BRIAN SOZZI: Well, Taco Bell is-- the salad is in the bowl.

JULIE HYMAN: The bowl, like the fried bowl. Like, it's just got, like, that--

BRIAN SOZZI: My mom was obsessed with those back in the day.

BRAD SMITH: Oh, we used to have those at the stadium grill back in Westchester, Pennsylvania, yeah.

BRIAN SOZZI: Waistline killer.

BRAD SMITH: I mean, here's the thing.

[LAUGHTER]

BRIAN SOZZI: Sorry, mom.

BRAD SMITH: Average volume, though, I mean, you're going to see a volume spike here on the day. Average volume, there's really only about 129,000 shares that trades on the daily for El Pollo Loco, or LOCO. So we'll see if the shares, or the volume, at least, goes loco here on the day, given this announcement of the $20 million repurchase program.