12,175 Shares in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC purchased 12,175 shares of Wingstop Inc., valued at approximately $2.7 million, marking a significant addition to their investment portfolio during Q1.
• Wingstop's CFO, Alex Kaleida, recently sold 5,400 shares for about $2 million, indicating a 39.24% reduction in his ownership of the stock.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.30 per share, effective September 5th, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,746,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Wingstop by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,214 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $21,092,000 after buying an additional 2,273 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,313,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,260,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Wingstop by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $19,457,000 after purchasing an additional 17,347 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Wingstop from $367.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Wingstop from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Gordon Haskett upgraded Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other news, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.09, for a total transaction of $2,030,886.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at $3,144,864.58. This represents a 39.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,838 shares of company stock worth $11,491,935. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING stock traded down $15.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $315.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,098,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,923. The stock's 50 day moving average is $340.23 and its 200 day moving average is $287.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a PE ratio of 52.56, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.84. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.00 and a twelve month high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $174.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Wingstop's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is an increase from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.00%.

Wingstop Company 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.