EFG International AG Makes New Investment in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• EFG International AG acquired 22,092 Wingstop shares worth approximately $3.83 million during the second quarter, joining several other institutions that recently initiated or increased positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive but has weakened: Wingstop holds a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $241.81, despite several recent target cuts and one sell rating.
• Wingstop shares opened at $112.24, near their 52-week low, while the company reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.18 and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.33 per share.

EFG International AG bought a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,092 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,830,000. EFG International AG owned about 0.08% of Wingstop as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Wingstop in the second quarter valued at about $481,314,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth about $15,874,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 68,489 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,614,000 after purchasing an additional 16,764 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,130,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,456,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WING. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Wingstop from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $220.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Wingstop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $237.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $241.81.

Wingstop Trading Down 1.4%

Wingstop stock opened at $112.24 on Thursday. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.44 and a 1-year high of $342.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.97. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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