Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $56.64 Million Stock Holdings in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its Wingstop stake by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, but still held 237,505 shares worth about $56.6 million at the end of the period.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive: analysts have assigned Wingstop an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $282.41, even as some firms lowered their targets.
• Wingstop reported Q1 earnings of $1.18 per share, beating expectations, while revenue rose 7.4% year over year to $183.73 million; the company also announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend payable June 5.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 237,505 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 13,409 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.85% of Wingstop worth $56,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1,650.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 197.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 54.3% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the third quarter valued at $47,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wingstop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Wingstop from $230.00 to $229.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Wingstop from $295.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.41.

Wingstop Price Performance

Wingstop stock opened at $129.21 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $174.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.67. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.35 and a fifty-two week high of $388.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 15.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $183.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Wingstop's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.85%.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In related news, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $141,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,093,750. This trade represents a 11.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total value of $703,971.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,465.59. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Wingstop

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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