Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 12,696 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,740 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 12,696 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel owned 0.14% of Wingstop worth $9,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 134.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Wingstop during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Wingstop by 4,200.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Wingstop by 121.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 623.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 152 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $256.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $247.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.60. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.00 and a fifty-two week high of $388.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $175.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.10 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.51% and a negative return on equity of 16.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Wingstop’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 19.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WING. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $340.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wingstop news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total transaction of $69,931.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,373,421.51. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.