The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in Wingstop Inc. $WING

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 18,954 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,287,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Wingstop by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 959 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1.7% during 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 during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,672 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 4,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $109.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.79. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $105.43 and a one year high of $330.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $136.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.70.

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

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark dropped their target price on Wingstop from $285.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird raised Wingstop to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.81.

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.