Lone Pine Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,491,245 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $375,317,000. Wingstop makes up 2.7% of Lone Pine Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned approximately 5.37% of Wingstop at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WING. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 1,650.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 54.3% in 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 period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Wingstop by 75.9% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Wingstop by 121.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Truist Financial set a $374.00 price objective on Wingstop and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Wingstop from $267.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Wingstop in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Three equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $337.29.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING opened at $199.22 on Tuesday. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.87 and a 1-year high of $388.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.24.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $175.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 19.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total value of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $141,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,375 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,750. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.