TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Has $20.11 Million Stake in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Key Points

• TimesSquare Capital Management boosted its Wingstop stake by 813.7% in Q4, ending with 84,304 shares valued at about $20.1 million.
• Several analysts remain positive on Wingstop, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $282.41, though some firms have recently trimmed their targets.
• Wingstop reported Q1 earnings of $1.18 per share, topping estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share payable June 5.

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 813.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,304 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 75,077 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned 0.30% of Wingstop worth $20,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Wingstop by 1,650.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Wingstop by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Wingstop by 197.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Wingstop by 54.3% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Wingstop during the third quarter worth $47,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WING shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $230.00 to $229.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Wingstop from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $320.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Melius Research set a $350.00 target price on Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.41.

Insider Activity

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

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $126.80 on Wednesday. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.35 and a twelve month high of $388.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $169.82 and a 200-day moving average of $223.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 15.77%.The company had revenue of $183.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.82 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.85%.

Wingstop 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.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.