Wingstop Inc. $WING Shares Acquired by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its Wingstop stake by 32.4% in the first quarter, buying 16,764 additional shares and bringing its total to 68,489 shares worth about $10.6 million.
• Wingstop reported better-than-expected EPS of $1.18 for its latest quarter, though revenue of $183.72 million came in slightly below analyst forecasts. Revenue still rose 7.4% year over year.
• Wall Street remains largely bullish on the stock, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $261.19, despite the shares trading around $153.29.

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 32.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,489 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 16,764 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel owned about 0.25% of Wingstop worth $10,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop in the third quarter valued at $375,317,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 296.2% in the 3rd quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $239,227,000 after buying an additional 710,621 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,405,894 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $335,292,000 after buying an additional 456,861 shares in the last quarter. Atreides Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth about $93,012,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Wingstop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $114,758,000.

Wingstop Stock Performance

WING opened at $153.29 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.79. Wingstop Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.35 and a 1 year high of $381.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.94.

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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $183.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is 29.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WING. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Mizuho set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on Wingstop from $320.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $261.19.

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.

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