PDT Partners LLC Takes Position in Wingstop Inc. $WING

PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 32,764 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,682,000. PDT Partners LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Wingstop as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WING. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $481,314,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 296.2% in the third quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,227,000 after buying an additional 710,621 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter worth $80,456,000. Atreides Management LP bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $93,012,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth $114,758,000.

Wingstop Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of WING opened at $113.85 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $140.81 and a 200 day moving average of $169.05. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.44 and a 52-week high of $342.10.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The business had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WING. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $220.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Wingstop from $255.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Wingstop from $255.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.81.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.