Wingstop Inc. $WING Shares Purchased by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group increased its Wingstop stake by 44.5% in the second quarter, holding 942,943 shares valued at approximately $163.5 million. Several other major institutions, including BlackRock and Steadfast Capital, also established or expanded positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Wingstop carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $241.81, despite mixed individual actions ranging from upgrades to a sell downgrade.
• Wingstop reported quarterly earnings of $1.18 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $185.56 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share, though shares opened at $113.58—well below their 12-month high of $338.80.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 942,943 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 290,501 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 3.46% of Wingstop worth $163,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth about $481,314,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at about $147,440,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 296.2% in the third quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,227,000 after buying an additional 710,621 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,456,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,595,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Wingstop from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $241.81.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING opened at $113.58 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $138.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.51. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.43 and a 12-month high of $338.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The firm had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

About Wingstop

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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