Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 28,964 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 440,798 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 28,964 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 1.58% of Wingstop worth $110,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WING. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the first quarter worth approximately $256,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 2,770.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 5.6% during 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 worth $20,852,000 after buying an additional 4,937 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING opened at $272.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.77. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.00 and a 52 week high of $388.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.97.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.10 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 25.51%.Wingstop’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WING shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Wingstop from $363.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (down previously from $420.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wingstop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wingstop news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total value of $69,931.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,373,421.51. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.