Neuberger Berman Group LLC Acquires 45,608 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Wingstop Inc. by 32.7%, owning a total of 184,968 shares worth approximately $41.7 million after acquiring 45,608 additional shares.
• Wingstop recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing an increase from the previous dividend of $0.27, with an annualized yield of 0.4%.
• The restaurant operator reported quarterly earnings of $1.00 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues rising 12% year-over-year to $174.33 million.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 32.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,968 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 45,608 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.66% of Wingstop worth $41,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $326,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,229 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 547,831 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $155,694,000 after purchasing an additional 14,124 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth about $151,802,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in Wingstop by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 446,601 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $100,744,000 after buying an additional 178,041 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its position in Wingstop by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 387,956 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $110,257,000 after buying an additional 97,855 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ WING opened at $342.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a PE ratio of 57.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $339.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.05. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.00 and a 52 week high of $433.86.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.34, for a total transaction of $3,373,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 47,190 shares in the company, valued at $15,919,074.60. The trade was a 17.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,838 shares of company stock worth $11,491,935. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WING. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $325.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. William Blair began coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Westpark Capital raised shares of Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.