Winmark (NASDAQ:WINA) Shares Down 6.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Winmark Corporation's shares fell by 6.8% following a downgrade from Weiss Ratings, moving the stock from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating.
• Insider trading was notable, with Director Lawrence A. Barbetta selling 852 shares and CEO Brett D. Heffes selling 4,971 shares, affecting their ownership stakes significantly.
• Winmark reported a solid earnings performance with earnings per share of $2.89, slightly beating analysts' expectations, alongside a declared quarterly dividend of $0.96.

Winmark Corporation (NASDAQ:WINA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 6.8% during trading on Thursday after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating. The stock traded as low as $451.06 and last traded at $452.15. 62,001 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 83,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $485.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lawrence A. Barbetta sold 852 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.02, for a total transaction of $430,277.04. Following the sale, the director owned 649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $327,757.98. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brett D. Heffes sold 4,971 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.89, for a total value of $2,256,287.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 114,400 shares in the company, valued at $51,925,016. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,264 shares of company stock worth $3,797,366 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Winmark by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 171,334 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $54,462,000 after buying an additional 2,382 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Winmark during the second quarter worth $31,021,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Winmark by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 75,665 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,575,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Winmark by 2,358.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 73,739 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,845,000 after acquiring an additional 70,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Winmark by 16.3% during the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 73,501 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,755,000 after purchasing an additional 10,292 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.32% of the company's stock.

Winmark Stock Down 7.4%

The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.09 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $461.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $407.63.

Winmark (NASDAQ:WINA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The specialty retailer reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.01. Winmark had a net margin of 49.48% and a negative return on equity of 98.49%. The firm had revenue of $20.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.31 million.

Winmark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Winmark's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.19%.

Winmark Company Profile

Winmark Corporation, a resale company operates as a franchisor for small business in the United States and Canada. The company franchises retail stores concepts that buy, sell and trade merchandise. It also operates middle-market equipment leasing business. In addition, the company buys and sells used clothing and accessories geared toward the teenage and young adult market under Plato's Closet brand; and operates stores which buys and sells used and new children's clothing, toys, furniture, equipment, and accessories primarily to parents of children ages infant to 12 years under the Once Upon A Child brand.

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