Wingstop Inc. $WING Shares Purchased by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Wingstop Inc. by 336.6% during the first quarter, acquiring 2,955 additional shares to reach a total of 3,833 shares valued at approximately $865,000.
• Wingstop recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.00, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting a 12% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.27, with payment set for September 5th.

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 336.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 2,955 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Wingstop were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 106.9% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Wingstop by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 280.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Wingstop during the first quarter worth approximately $70,000.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In other news, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.09, for a total value of $2,030,886.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,144,864.58. The trade was a 39.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total value of $4,421,118.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,838 shares of company stock valued at $8,118,535. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wingstop Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of WING traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $309.79. 353,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 737,585. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.00 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86. The company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $328.02 and its 200 day moving average is $291.91.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.61% and a negative return on equity of 17.07%. The firm had revenue of $174.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WING has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wingstop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Wingstop from $375.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Wingstop from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on Wingstop from $325.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.52.

Wingstop Company Profile

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.