Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Holdings in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 35,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $6,226,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Wingstop during the second quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Wingstop by 121.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Wingstop to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Wingstop from $237.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.81.

Wingstop Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $113.15 on Thursday. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.43 and a 52-week high of $325.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.44 and a 200 day moving average of $162.92.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 EPS 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 company had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Wingstop Profile

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.