TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 91,542 Wingstop Inc. $WING

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 91,542 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $15,874,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WING. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 32.4% during the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 68,489 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,614,000 after purchasing an additional 16,764 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its stake in Wingstop by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 11,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 6,280 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Wingstop by 11.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 488,213 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $75,658,000 after buying an additional 49,300 shares during the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Wingstop in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,502,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Wingstop by 17.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 356,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,216,000 after buying an additional 51,703 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Down 8.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $115.72 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.67. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.44 and a 52-week high of $345.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WING has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Wingstop from $255.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.81.

Wingstop Company 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.