Natixis Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

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 stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,746,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Wingstop by 93.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 106.9% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $49,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, 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 transaction of $1,666,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total value of $4,421,118.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,838 shares of company stock valued at $11,491,935. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wingstop Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WING traded up $7.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $336.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 106,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,701. The firm has a market cap of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.84. Wingstop Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.00 and a 1 year high of $433.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $339.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.30.

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

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on Wingstop from $296.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Wingstop from $367.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Six investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $379.52.

About Wingstop

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.