Insider Selling: Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) COO Sells $409,025.00 in Stock

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) COO Raj Kapoor sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.61, for a total value of $409,025.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $271,428.99. This trade represents a 60.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wingstop Stock Up 8.9%

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

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $185.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.99%.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WING. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 21.4% in the third quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 16,443 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Wingstop in the third quarter valued at about $248,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in Wingstop by 161.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 350 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Wingstop by 35.0% in the third quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 141.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 370 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $285.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.