Nuveen Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 85.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,219 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 107,695 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.80% of Wingstop worth $66,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WING. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Wingstop by 521.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Wingstop by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Wingstop by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 637 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.07, for a total value of $173,945.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 517 shares in the company, valued at $141,177.19. The trade was a 55.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WING. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Wingstop from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $319.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Wingstop from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.78.

Wingstop Stock Performance

WING stock traded down $5.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $327.78. 718,424 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 619,813. Wingstop Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.00 and a 1 year high of $433.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $243.44 and a 200-day moving average of $275.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a PE ratio of 88.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.80.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $171.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.25 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 21.59% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.09%.

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.