Some Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior VP of Corporate Restaurants & Chief People Officer, Donnie Upshaw, recently sold a substantial US$1.2m worth of stock at a price of US$373 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 97%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Wingstop

The President, Michael Skipworth, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.1m worth of shares at a price of US$340 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$371. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 27% of Michael Skipworth's holding.

Insiders in Wingstop didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Does Wingstop Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.3% of Wingstop shares, worth about US$33m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Wingstop Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Wingstop stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Wingstop makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Wingstop. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Wingstop you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.