BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Acquires New Stake in Wingstop Inc. $WING

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,850 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter valued at approximately $375,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,405,894 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $335,292,000 after acquiring an additional 456,861 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 296.2% during the third quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,227,000 after acquiring an additional 710,621 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 20.8% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 890,451 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $224,109,000 after acquiring an additional 153,082 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 767,208 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $193,091,000 after purchasing an additional 26,111 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $151.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.82. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.35 and a 52 week high of $388.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.25.

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

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WING. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $230.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, April 20th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $255.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Wingstop from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.68.

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.