72,125 Shares in Wingstop Inc. $WING Bought by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 72,125 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $12,507,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Wingstop at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WING. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth about $481,314,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP raised its position 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Wingstop in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,456,000. Atreides Management LP bought a new stake in Wingstop in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,012,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new stake in Wingstop in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $114,758,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.81.

Wingstop Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $113.63 on Friday. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.44 and a 12 month high of $342.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.71 and a 200-day moving average of $172.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The business had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.