Insider Selling: Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Director Sells $220,567.20 in Stock

Key Points

• Wingstop director Wesley McDonald sold 1,520 shares for approximately $220,567 at an average price of $145.11, reducing his direct ownership by 27.61% to 3,986 shares.
• Wingstop shares rose 8.9% to $163.04, while the company’s latest quarterly earnings of $1.08 per share exceeded analyst expectations despite revenue falling short of estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, or $1.32 annualized, representing a 0.8% yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $222.43.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) Director Wesley Mcdonald sold 1,520 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.11, for a total transaction of $220,567.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $578,408.46. This trade represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Wingstop Trading Up 8.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:WING traded up $13.31 on Monday, hitting $163.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,972,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,473. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $115.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.57. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.82 and a 1-year high of $302.80.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $185.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $192.89 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.03% and a negative return on equity of 15.80%. Wingstop's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is 30.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Wingstop during the second quarter worth about $481,314,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Wingstop by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $260,115,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 942,943 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $163,516,000 after purchasing an additional 290,501 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 863,951 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $149,751,000 after purchasing an additional 16,907 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $147,440,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WING shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Wingstop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Wingstop from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Wingstop from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $220.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Wingstop from $240.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.43.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc is a franchised restaurant company specializing in cooked-to-order chicken wings and related menu items. Its offerings include classic and boneless wings prepared with a range of flavors, along with chicken sandwiches, tenders, fries, seasoned fries, dips, sides and beverages. The company emphasizes made-to-order food, a digital ordering experience and a menu centered on customizable chicken meals.

Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, Wingstop has expanded from a single restaurant into a global brand operated primarily through franchised locations.

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