Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Down 9.1% on Insider Selling

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) fell 9.1% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $235.00 and last traded at $235.9790. 522,466 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 843,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.51.

Specifically, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $141,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,750. The trade was a 11.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WING shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $345.00 to $280.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $336.07.

Wingstop Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.06, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.68.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $175.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WING. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 123.9% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 102,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,861,000 after purchasing an additional 56,833 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Wingstop by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 741,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $249,557,000 after buying an additional 109,108 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Wingstop by 287.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,593,000 after buying an additional 4,695 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 61.2% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,825 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 25.3% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,058 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,091,000 after acquiring an additional 4,256 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.