Wasatch Advisors LP Decreases Stake in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Wasatch Advisors LP cut its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 34.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 376,706 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 195,376 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $65,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 959 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,672 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Wingstop by 76.9% during 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 period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in Wingstop by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 4,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.81.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $111.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.44 and a fifty-two week high of $345.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

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.