Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 29,981 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman trimmed its Wingstop stake by 12.8%, selling 29,981 shares and retaining 203,538 shares worth about $51.23 million (≈0.73% of the company).
• Several large institutions — including Norges Bank, Wasatch, Artisan, MFS, and American Century — recently built or increased sizable positions in Wingstop, indicating strong institutional buying interest.
• Wingstop beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.00 vs. $0.84), announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend (ex-dividend March 6, yield ~0.5%), and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" average price target of $335.86.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,538 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 29,981 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.73% of Wingstop worth $51,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WING. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth about $118,211,000. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in Wingstop in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,758,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Wingstop by 83.1% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 737,369 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $248,302,000 after purchasing an additional 334,583 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Wingstop by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 949,033 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $238,853,000 after purchasing an additional 316,328 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Wingstop by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,557,383 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $524,433,000 after buying an additional 294,786 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $141,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,750. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING opened at $229.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.82. Wingstop Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.00 and a 1 year high of $388.14. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $259.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.34.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.74 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. Wingstop's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WING has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $363.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Wingstop from $267.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $335.86.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc NASDAQ: WING is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company's core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.

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