Carnegie Investment Counsel Reduces Holdings in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 78.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 53,640 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $2,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steadfast Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 710,621 shares during the last quarter. Atreides Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter valued at about $93,012,000. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $114,758,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,331,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Wingstop by 119.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 499,066 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $125,605,000 after buying an additional 271,177 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WING. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $237.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.81.

Wingstop Price Performance

Wingstop stock opened at $126.12 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.47. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.44 and a 12 month high of $345.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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%. Wingstop’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.50%.

Wingstop 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.