Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 29,668 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 30.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,486 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 29,668 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Wingstop worth $28,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Wingstop by 4.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 25,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 12,918 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its holdings in Wingstop by 1.2% during the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,515 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,266 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,648,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth about $230,000.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WING shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Northcoast Research upgraded Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $470.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.74.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING stock traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $291.75. 188,311 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,820. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $327.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 85.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.78 and a 12 month high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Wingstop's payout ratio is currently 31.49%.

Wingstop Company 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.