Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Down 5.6% After Insider Selling

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

Specifically, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $468.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.74.

Wingstop Stock Down 6.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.85, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $344.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $376.56.

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

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

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

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WING. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Wingstop by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Wingstop by 384.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter.

About Wingstop

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.