Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Invests $1.22 Million in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management LLC invested $1.22 million in Wingstop Inc. during the first quarter, acquiring 5,408 shares of the restaurant operator's stock.
• Wingstop's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.00, exceeding analyst expectations, alongside a revenue of $174.33 million.
• The company announced a dividend increase from $0.27 to $0.30 per share, with the new dividend payout set for September 5th, contributing to an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,408 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 106.9% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 280.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wingstop news, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total value of $4,421,118.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total value of $1,666,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,842,034.18. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,838 shares of company stock valued at $11,491,935 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WING shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wingstop from $367.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on Wingstop from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Melius began coverage on Wingstop in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $379.52.

Wingstop Price Performance

WING traded up $0.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $342.73. 564,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,129. The stock has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.84. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.00 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $339.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.05.

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

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Wingstop's payout ratio is presently 18.00%.

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.