PDT Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 32,764 Wingstop Inc. $WING

PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 32,764 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,682,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth $481,314,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 2nd quarter worth $15,874,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 16,764 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth $19,130,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 11,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,814,000 after buying an additional 6,280 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $113.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.44 and a 12-month high of $342.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.05.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The firm had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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. 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 is a positive change from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WING shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $255.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.