Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Makes New $919,000 Investment in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $919,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 32.4% during 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 last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in Wingstop by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 11,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,814,000 after acquiring an additional 6,280 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter valued at $1,502,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 813.7% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 84,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,106,000 after purchasing an additional 75,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 472.3% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 9,534 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 7,868 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.81.

Wingstop Stock Up 10.7%

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $126.12 on Friday. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.44 and a 52-week high of $345.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.16 and a 200 day moving average of $177.47.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced 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 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 company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Stockholders 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 represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 28.50%.

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.