The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 120,732 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 86.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 120,732 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.07% of Wingstop worth $2,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $116.82 on Friday. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.01 and a fifty-two week high of $345.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $149.34 and a 200 day moving average of $182.85.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 28.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WING. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Wingstop from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $237.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $285.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.