Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 324,251 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $77,331,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.17% of Wingstop at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WING. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 54.3% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 197.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 75.9% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $142.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.84. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.35 and a twelve month high of $388.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WING has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of 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 report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $295.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial set a $374.00 price target on shares of Wingstop and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, March 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.61.

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.