Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has increased its stock position in Wingstop Inc. by 8.0% during the 1st quarter and now owns approximately 0.79% of the company, valued at nearly $49.8 million.
• Wingstop recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.30 per share, reflecting an annualized basis of $1.20, with a payout ratio of 18.00%.
• In the most recent quarterly earnings, Wingstop reported an EPS of $1.00, surpassing analysts' expectations, along with a revenue increase of 12.0% compared to the previous year.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 220,614 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 16,373 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.79% of Wingstop worth $49,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 472.1% in the first quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 11,533 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,602,000 after purchasing an additional 9,517 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the first quarter worth $209,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 8.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,883 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the first quarter worth $2,746,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1.9% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,778 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler began coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Wingstop from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Melius assumed coverage on Wingstop in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Wingstop from $350.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.09, for a total value of $2,030,886.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at $3,144,864.58. This trade represents a 39.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $4,421,118.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,838 shares of company stock worth $11,491,935 in the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wingstop Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ WING traded down $8.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $330.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 566,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,491. The company has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 55.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.84. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.00 and a 52 week high of $433.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $336.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.64.

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

Wingstop Increases Dividend

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

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.