Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Key Points

• Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Wingstop Inc. by 7.3%, owning approximately 16,553 shares valued at $3.73 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Wingstop reported earnings of $1.00 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.88, with revenue of $174.33 million.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.30 per share, effective September 5th, reflecting a higher annualized yield of 0.4% compared to the previous dividend of $0.27.

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,553 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Wingstop worth $3,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WING. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Wingstop by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $326,893,000 after acquiring an additional 262,229 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Wingstop by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 547,831 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $155,694,000 after acquiring an additional 14,124 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $151,802,000. Man Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 387,956 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $110,257,000 after purchasing an additional 97,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 760.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 381,745 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $108,497,000 after purchasing an additional 337,401 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING stock traded up $13.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $328.55. 765,778 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,554. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.00 and a 12 month high of $433.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $340.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 54.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.84.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $174.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.60 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.61% and a negative return on equity of 17.07%. Wingstop's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,144,864.58. This trade represents a 39.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $1,666,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,842,034.18. The trade was a 9.52% decrease in their position. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Wingstop from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Wingstop from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Westpark Capital upgraded Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Wingstop from $296.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.52.

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.