S.A. Mason LLC Buys New Stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

S.A. Mason LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $125,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WING. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Wingstop by 284.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 383,184 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $161,957,000 after acquiring an additional 283,412 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Wingstop by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 602,990 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $254,860,000 after purchasing an additional 161,600 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 325,920 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $137,753,000 after purchasing an additional 130,248 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,924,326 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,071,473,000 after purchasing an additional 104,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,273,542 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $833,026,000 after purchasing an additional 101,917 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $289.99 on Thursday. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.88 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $392.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $388.27.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.33% and a negative return on equity of 21.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 38.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Wingstop from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Wingstop from $418.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wingstop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.95.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Donnie Upshaw sold 3,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.71, for a total transaction of $1,192,299.29. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 97 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,152.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates restaurants under the Wingstop brand. Its restaurants offer classic wings, boneless wings, tenders, and hand-sauced-and-tossed in various flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches with fries and hand-cut carrots and celery that are cooked-to-order.