Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 72,125 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $12,507,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at about $15,874,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in Wingstop by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 68,489 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,614,000 after purchasing an additional 16,764 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in Wingstop by 113.8% in the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 11,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 6,280 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 488,213 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $75,658,000 after purchasing an additional 49,300 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 356,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,216,000 after purchasing an additional 51,703 shares during the period.

Wingstop Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $113.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.71 and a 200-day moving average of $172.42. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.44 and a 12 month high of $342.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a PEG 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 1.2%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WING has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $255.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut Wingstop from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho reduced their price target on Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.81.

Wingstop Company Profile

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.