2,775,585 Shares in Wingstop Inc. $WING Bought by BlackRock Inc.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,775,585 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $481,314,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 10.19% of Wingstop at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 75.7% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WING. Mizuho decreased their target price on Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Wingstop from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $241.81.

Wingstop Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of WING stock opened at $116.84 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $141.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.24. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.44 and a twelve month high of $342.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The business had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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