Wingstop Inc. $WING Shares Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services increased its stake in Wingstop by 48.1% in Q4 to 1,405,894 shares, representing about a 5.06% ownership stake valued at $335.3 million.
• Several analysts have cut price targets for Wingstop (e.g., Wells Fargo to $225, Morgan Stanley to $265), but the stock still carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $311.76 average target.
• Wingstop reported a Q that beat EPS estimates ($1.00 vs. $0.84) while revenue slightly missed but rose 8.6% year-over-year, and the company recently paid a $0.30 quarterly dividend (≈0.7% yield).

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 48.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,405,894 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 456,861 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 5.06% of Wingstop worth $335,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the third quarter worth $47,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 75.9% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WING has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Wingstop from $330.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Wingstop from $345.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Wingstop from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Truist Financial set a $374.00 target price on Wingstop and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Wingstop from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $325.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $311.76.

Wingstop Trading Up 0.5%

Wingstop stock opened at $179.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 2.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $215.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.03. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.24 and a 52 week high of $388.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 25.01%.The firm's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Wingstop news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,583 shares in the company, valued at $673,465.59. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 4,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,093,750. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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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