Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Position in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 949,033 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 316,328 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 3.40% of Wingstop worth $238,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth $43,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Wingstop by 4,200.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Wingstop by 623.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 152 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In related news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total value 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WING. Benchmark cut their target price on Wingstop from $340.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Wingstop in a report on Friday, January 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (down previously from $420.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.64.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING opened at $276.31 on Tuesday. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.00 and a fifty-two week high of $388.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.43. The company has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.77.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.54%.

Wingstop 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.