Wingstop Inc. $WING Holdings Raised by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 553,686 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,894 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $132,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Wingstop by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 197.9% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $142.23 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.75. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.82. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.35 and a 12 month high of $388.14.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 29.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Wingstop from $295.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Wingstop from $230.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Wingstop from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, April 30th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.61.

About Wingstop

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.