Legato Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management boosted its Wingstop stake by 472.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 9,534 shares valued at about $2.27 million.
• Wingstop reported quarterly EPS of $1.18, topping analyst estimates, while revenue came in at $183.73 million, slightly below expectations but still up 7.4% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $278.21.

Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 472.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,534 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 7,868 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Wingstop were worth $2,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in Wingstop by 123.9% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 102,687 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,861,000 after acquiring an additional 56,833 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the third quarter valued at about $375,317,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Wingstop by 17.1% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 57,586 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $14,493,000 after acquiring an additional 8,414 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Wingstop by 160.6% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 740,896 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $186,469,000 after acquiring an additional 456,637 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in Wingstop by 74.4% during the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 18,990 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,583 shares in the company, valued at $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $141,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,750. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING stock opened at $140.41 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $164.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.86. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.35 and a fifty-two week high of $388.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $183.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.82 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WING has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial set a $374.00 price target on Wingstop and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $295.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wingstop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Wingstop in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Wingstop from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.21.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WING? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.