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

Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. 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’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $6,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WING. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 197.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 75.7% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $162.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $156.64 and its 200 day moving average is $212.72. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.35 and a twelve month high of $381.45.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WING has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Truist Financial set a $374.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.82.

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.