Next Century Growth Investors LLC Has $6.12 Million Stake in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,438 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned 0.09% of Wingstop worth $6,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $230.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $374.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.82.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING opened at $162.29 on Monday. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $116.35 and a one year high of $381.45. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.72.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 29.85%.

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.