Advisors Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Wingstop Inc. by 11.7%, reducing its holdings to 7,112 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Wingstop increased its quarterly dividend from $0.27 to $0.30, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.20 and a yield of 0.4%.
• The restaurant operator reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with $1.00 EPS compared to the consensus estimate of $0.88, reflecting a 12% year-over-year revenue growth.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,112 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 945 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Wingstop were worth $1,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 106.9% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 280.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in Wingstop in the 1st quarter valued at $70,000.

Wingstop Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of WING opened at $309.79 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.87. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.00 and a 12-month high of $433.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $328.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.22.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $174.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.60 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.61% and a negative return on equity of 17.07%. Wingstop's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Wingstop's payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Wingstop from $325.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler began coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price target on Wingstop from $325.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Wingstop from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $379.52.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In related news, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total value of $4,421,118.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $1,666,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,842,034.18. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,838 shares of company stock worth $8,118,535. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wingstop Profile

Wingstop Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates restaurants under the Wingstop brand. Its restaurants offer classic wings, boneless wings, tenders, and hand-sauced-and-tossed in various flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches with fries and hand-cut carrots and celery that are cooked-to-order.

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