Wingstop Inc. $WING Stock Position Lifted by State Street Corp

Key Points

• State Street increased its Wingstop stake by 2% in the second quarter to 863,951 shares, worth approximately $149.8 million. BlackRock and several other institutional investors also established or expanded positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $236.44, despite several recent target-price cuts. Wingstop shares opened at $97.84, near their 12-month low of $96.37 and well below the $302.80 high.
• Wingstop exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.18 versus the $1.02 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.33, implying a 1.3% annual yield.

State Street Corp raised its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 863,951 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 16,907 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 3.17% of Wingstop worth $149,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter worth $481,314,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth $15,874,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the second quarter valued at $80,456,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in Wingstop by 32.4% during the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 68,489 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,614,000 after purchasing an additional 16,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Wingstop in the second quarter valued at about $3,287,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WING has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Wingstop from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wingstop from $255.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Wingstop from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $285.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.44.

Wingstop Stock Performance

WING opened at $97.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.99. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.37 and a twelve month high of $302.80.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 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 company had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

Wingstop Profile

Wingstop Inc is a fast-casual restaurant company specializing in cooked-to-order chicken wings and tenders. Its menu also includes fries, seasoned fries, dipping sauces, and beverages, with offerings built around a range of signature flavors and sauces. The company primarily operates through a franchise-based model.

Wingstop was founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, and has expanded from its original location into a global restaurant brand. Its restaurants serve customers across the United States and in international markets through a network of franchised and company-operated locations.

Wingstop became a publicly traded company in 2015.

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