Wingstop Inc. $WING Shares Bought by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management increased its Wingstop stake by 59.3% in the first quarter, buying 7,000 additional shares and ending with 18,800 shares valued at about $2.9 million.
• Wingstop’s stock was down $4.43 to $153.29 in Friday trading, with shares moving below their 200-day average and far off the 52-week high of $381.45.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.18 EPS versus the $1.02 consensus, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $261.19.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 59.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,800 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned approximately 0.07% of Wingstop worth $2,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WING. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Wingstop by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 959 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Wingstop by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 265 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership grew its holdings in Wingstop by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 426 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Wingstop by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,672 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Price Performance

WING stock traded down $4.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $153.29. 1,409,473 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,037,988. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.79. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.35 and a fifty-two week high of $381.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $150.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.32.

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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Wingstop from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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