Next Century Growth Investors LLC Sells 17,970 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC reduced its holdings in Wingstop Inc. by 61.7%, selling 17,970 shares and retaining 11,161 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million.
• Analysts from Morgan Stanley and UBS Group raised their price targets for Wingstop, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $405 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Insider trading shows significant selling activity, with CFO Alex Kaleida and CEO Michael Skipworth selling 5,400 and 4,500 shares respectively, reflecting a notable decrease in their ownership stakes.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC lessened its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 61.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,161 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 17,970 shares during the quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC's holdings in Wingstop were worth $2,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 93.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Wingstop by 280.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Wingstop from $367.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Wingstop from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial raised Wingstop from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $420.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Wingstop from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $379.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other news, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.09, for a total value of $2,030,886.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,144,864.58. This trade represents a 39.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 4,500 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total value of $1,666,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,842,034.18. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,838 shares of company stock valued at $8,118,535 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $339.33 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $332.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.84. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $204.00 and a one year high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $174.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.60 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 25.61%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Wingstop 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.

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