Sei Investments Co. Sells 19,739 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Sei Investments Co. cut its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 13.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 122,378 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 19,739 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $18,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WING. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,111,089 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $503,475,000 after buying an additional 58,386 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 48.1% during the 4th 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. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,173,613 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $279,895,000 after acquiring an additional 70,224 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Wingstop by 296.2% during the third quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,227,000 after acquiring an additional 710,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Wingstop by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 675,301 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $161,054,000 after acquiring an additional 31,618 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Stephens set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Wingstop from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.19.

Wingstop Price Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $139.45 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $152.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.66. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.79. Wingstop Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.35 and a 1 year high of $381.45.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released 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 net margin of 15.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 29.85%.

More Wingstop News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wingstop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wingstop reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.18 per share, exceeding the $1.02 analyst consensus and rising from $1.00 a year earlier. Revenue increased 6.5% year over year to $185.56 million. Wingstop Tops Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company added 102 net restaurants during the quarter, driving 16% unit growth. Management said expansion and other strategic initiatives are intended to support the next phase of growth. Wingstop Fiscal Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wingstop raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.33 per share, payable September 5 to shareholders of record August 15. The increase signals confidence in cash generation, although the annualized yield remains modest at approximately 0.9%.
• Neutral Sentiment: National Chicken Wing Day promotions and limited-time deals provide additional brand visibility and could support near-term customer traffic, but discounts may also limit the financial benefit. National Chicken Wing Day Deals
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations of approximately $190.25 million, making the top-line miss the main counterweight to the EPS beat. Wingstop Misses Q2 Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management attributed a decline in same-store sales to pressure on consumer spending. That trend raises concerns about demand at existing locations and is particularly important for a restaurant stock trading well below its longer-term moving averages. Wingstop Same-Store Sales Decline

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.