Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 66,102 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,620,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 66,102 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.43% of Wingstop worth $659,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $118,211,000. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth about $114,758,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 83.1% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 737,369 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $248,302,000 after purchasing an additional 334,583 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 50.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 949,033 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $238,853,000 after buying an additional 316,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 23.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,557,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $524,433,000 after buying an additional 294,786 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Wingstop from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Wingstop from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Wingstop from $267.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $336.07.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING stock opened at $248.34 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.77. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $204.00 and a one year high of $388.14. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.80.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 25.01%.The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Wingstop 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.