Bank of Nova Scotia Takes $1.61 Million Position in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia initiated a $1.61 million Wingstop position, purchasing 9,302 shares during the second quarter. Other major institutions, including BlackRock and T. Rowe Price, also expanded or initiated holdings.
• Wingstop reported quarterly EPS of $1.18, exceeding estimates of $1.02, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $185.56 million, slightly below expectations.
• The stock opened at $112.24, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Despite recent analyst price-target cuts, Wall Street maintains a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $241.81, and Wingstop raised its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share.

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $481,314,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,111,089 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $503,475,000 after purchasing an additional 58,386 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,173,613 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $279,895,000 after purchasing an additional 70,224 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased 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 valued at $239,227,000 after purchasing an additional 710,621 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 18.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 798,616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $123,761,000 after purchasing an additional 123,315 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING stock opened at $112.24 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $140.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.97. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.44 and a 1-year high of $342.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $185.56 million during 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%.Wingstop's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Wingstop's payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $237.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $241.81.

Wingstop Company 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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