Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 8,593 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 564,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,593 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.03% of Wingstop worth $134,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Wingstop by 1,650.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Wingstop by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Wingstop by 54.3% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Wingstop by 197.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Wingstop during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WING. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Wingstop in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for 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 research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial raised Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $325.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.68.

Wingstop Stock Up 0.3%

WING opened at $144.48 on Friday. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.35 and a 12-month high of $388.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $157.44 and a 200-day moving average of $216.35.

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

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.85%.

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.