New York State Common Retirement Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Wingstop Inc. $WING

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,025 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,013 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.39% of Wingstop worth $27,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 1st quarter worth about $256,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 2,770.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 5.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 4,937 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 45.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WING opened at $265.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.28. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $204.00 and a one year high of $388.14. The firm has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.77.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $175.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.10 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.51% and a negative return on equity of 16.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 19.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total transaction of $69,931.93. Following the sale, the director owned 5,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,373,421.51. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WING shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Wingstop from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (down from $420.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.00.

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.