Wingstop Inc. $WING Shares Sold by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its Wingstop stake by 78.3% in the second quarter, selling 53,640 shares and retaining 14,849 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Wingstop holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $241.81, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Wingstop beat quarterly EPS expectations ($1.18 versus $1.02), while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $185.56 million. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share.

Carnegie Investment Counsel lowered its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 78.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,849 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 53,640 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel owned approximately 0.05% of Wingstop worth $2,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 9.8% in the second quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,719 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at $1,085,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,564 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth about $18,381,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WING shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $255.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $241.81.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $126.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.81. The stock's 50-day moving average is $146.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.47. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.44 and a 1-year high of $345.81.

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

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.50%.

Wingstop Company 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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