Wingstop Inc. $WING Shares Acquired by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 3.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 65,851 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,461 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $16,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1,650.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 134.2% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 4,200.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Wingstop by 623.8% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 152 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total value of $69,931.93. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,421.51. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wingstop Trading Down 0.8%

WING stock opened at $264.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 43.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.71. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.00 and a 12-month high of $388.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.18. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 25.51%.The business had revenue of $175.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WING has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (down previously from $420.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Wingstop from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Wingstop from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Wingstop from $267.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $338.75.

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.