Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Trading Down 5.6% Following Insider Selling

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s stock price dropped 5.6% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $303.71 and last traded at $304.90. Approximately 313,632 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 459,072 shares. The stock had previously closed at $322.89.

Specifically, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on WING shares. BTIG Research raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.74.

Wingstop Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $376.56.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. Wingstop’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 31.49%.

Wingstop announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop in the second quarter worth $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Wingstop in the third quarter worth $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Wingstop by 60.6% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 384.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates restaurants under the Wingstop brand. Its restaurants offer classic wings, boneless wings, tenders, and hand-sauced-and-tossed in various flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches with fries and hand-cut carrots and celery that are cooked-to-order.