Mizuho Markets Cayman LP Buys Shares of 35,950 Wingstop Inc. $WING

Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 35,950 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $8,574,000. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP owned approximately 0.13% of Wingstop as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 1st quarter valued at $256,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 2,770.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 92,439 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,937 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Trading Up 5.8%

WING opened at $140.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $164.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.03. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.35 and a 12-month high of $388.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm had revenue of $183.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Wingstop’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Wingstop from $230.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens decreased their price target on Wingstop from $300.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Wingstop from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $673,465.59. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $141,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,750. The trade was a 11.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.