Hancock Whitney Corp Reduces Holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Hancock Whitney Corp cut its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 59.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,865 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,755 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Wingstop were worth $530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,499 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,415,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Wingstop by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 897 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Wingstop stock traded up $8.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $267.93. The stock had a trading volume of 500,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,501. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.00 and a 12 month high of $433.86. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 2.02. The business's 50-day moving average is $226.03 and its 200 day moving average is $281.44.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $171.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.25 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.37% and a negative return on equity of 21.59%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WING shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim upgraded Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Wingstop from $271.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.17.

Wingstop Company 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.