California State Teachers Retirement System Has $949.58 Million Stock Position in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• CalSTRS dramatically increased its Wingstop stake by 16,825.6% in the second quarter, ending with 5.48 million shares valued at approximately $949.6 million, or about 20.1% of the company.
• Wingstop’s latest quarter showed EPS of $1.18, ahead of the $1.02 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $185.6 million but fell short of expectations.
• Investor sentiment is mixed: the stock trades well below its 12-month high, TD Cowen downgraded it to Hold with a $120 target, yet analysts overall maintain a Moderate Buy rating and Wingstop raised its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 16,825.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,475,941 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 5,443,588 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 20.10% of Wingstop worth $949,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $481,314,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 2.8% in the fourth 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 stake in shares of Wingstop by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,173,613 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $279,895,000 after purchasing an additional 70,224 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Wingstop by 296.2% in the 3rd 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, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in Wingstop by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 942,943 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $163,516,000 after buying an additional 290,501 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wingstop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wingstop introduced its first-ever Wing Pass, offering customers a season-long promotion tied to football season. Reports that the initial offering sold out suggest strong consumer interest and could support traffic, brand engagement, and near-term sales. Wingstop sells out of first-ever Wing Pass offering incredible deal
• Positive Sentiment: The company also launched a limited-time Lemon Pepper Trio for football season. Seasonal menu innovation and marketing may help drive customer visits and same-store sales during a key promotional period. Wingstop kicks off football season with Lemon Pepper Trio
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts collectively maintain a “Moderate Buy” average rating, providing some support for the stock despite recent estimate and valuation concerns. Wingstop analyst rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market commentary noted that WING advanced even as the broader market weakened, indicating relative strength. However, this type of price action does not by itself establish a change in earnings fundamentals. Wingstop rises as market takes a dip
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported September short-interest figures show zero shares and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, but the accompanying “NaN” change suggests the data may be incomplete or erroneous. Investors should not rely on it as a meaningful short-squeeze signal.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its price target from $160 to $120 and downgraded its stance to Hold, leaving only modest implied upside. The reduction signals weaker confidence in Wingstop’s valuation or growth outlook. Read More: Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: A recent valuation analysis said the stock is more reasonably valued after its decline but warned that fundamentals remain questionable, including concerns about growth durability and operating performance. Wingstop valuation improves but fundamentals are questionable

Wingstop Stock Up 6.0%

WING stock opened at $117.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.79. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $126.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.75. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.43 and a 12-month high of $302.80.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The firm's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WING. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Wingstop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have 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, Wingstop currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.33.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc is a fast-casual restaurant company specializing in cooked-to-order chicken wings and tenders. Its menu also includes fries, seasoned fries, dipping sauces, and beverages, with offerings built around a range of signature flavors and sauces. The company primarily operates through a franchise-based model.

Wingstop was founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, and has expanded from its original location into a global restaurant brand. Its restaurants serve customers across the United States and in international markets through a network of franchised and company-operated locations.

Wingstop became a publicly traded company in 2015.

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