Wingstop Inc. $WING Shares Acquired by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 59.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $2,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Wingstop in the first quarter valued at about $256,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 2,770.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 92,439 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,937 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 45.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Price Performance

WING traded down $4.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $153.29. 1,409,473 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,037,988. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.32. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.35 and a 12 month high of $381.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.79.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 15.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $183.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 29.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WING shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $229.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Wingstop from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.19.

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.