Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Key Points

• Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC reduced its stake in Wingstop Inc. by 1.9%, holding 170,305 shares after selling 3,345 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised Wingstop's target prices significantly, with BTIG Research setting a new target of $430, signaling a strong buy rating.
• Wingstop announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.30, offering investors a yield of 0.4% and reflecting a boost from the previous dividend of $0.27.

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lowered its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,305 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,345 shares during the period. Wingstop makes up about 0.9% of Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC owned approximately 0.61% of Wingstop worth $38,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WING. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $151,802,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Wingstop by 760.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 381,745 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $108,497,000 after purchasing an additional 337,401 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,855,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Wingstop by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $326,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Wingstop by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 446,601 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $100,744,000 after purchasing an additional 178,041 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.09, for a total value of $2,030,886.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,144,864.58. The trade was a 39.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $4,421,118.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,838 shares of company stock valued at $11,491,935. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on WING shares. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $350.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wingstop from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $274.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $379.52.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $315.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 52.56, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $340.23 and a 200 day moving average of $287.97. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $204.00 and a one year high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $174.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.60 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.61% and a negative return on equity of 17.07%. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Wingstop's payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Wingstop Profile

Wingstop Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates restaurants under the Wingstop brand. Its restaurants offer classic wings, boneless wings, tenders, and hand-sauced-and-tossed in various flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches with fries and hand-cut carrots and celery that are cooked-to-order.

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