Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Makes New $1.70 Million Investment in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,699,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 959 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 1.1% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,672 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Wingstop by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in Wingstop by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 4,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho cut their price target on Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Wingstop from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.81.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $112.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.97. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.44 and a fifty-two week high of $342.10.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The business had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. 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 yield of 1.2%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.