Pacer Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,730 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $939,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (down from $420.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Benchmark reduced 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Five equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.78.

Wingstop Trading Up 7.7%

NASDAQ WING opened at $256.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 41.83, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.77. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.00 and a 12 month high of $388.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $245.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.03.

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

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wingstop news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.