Short Interest in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Expands By 613.7%

Key Points

• The short interest in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) surged by 613.7% in July, reaching a total of 1,670,000 shares shorted, which constitutes 6.0% of the company's outstanding shares.
• Wingstop recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.00, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.88, with revenue increasing 12.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.20 and a yield of 0.3%, payable on September 5th.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,670,000 shares, agrowthof613.7% from the June 30th total of 234,000 shares. Currently,6.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 752,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 752,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently,6.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wingstop Stock Down 3.9%

Wingstop stock opened at $362.45 on Friday. Wingstop has a 52 week low of $204.00 and a 52 week high of $433.86. The company's 50 day moving average price is $340.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.90. The stock has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 1.84.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $174.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.60 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 25.61%. Wingstop's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wingstop news, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.09, for a total value of $2,030,886.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.34, for a total value of $3,373,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,919,074.60. This trade represents a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,475 shares of company stock valued at $11,665,881 over the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WING. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Wingstop by 93.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 106.9% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $410.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Wingstop from $325.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.52.

About Wingstop

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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