Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 15,725 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.44% of Wingstop worth $41,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 16,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,734,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the first quarter worth $753,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 61.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Wingstop by 1.9% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,778 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop in the first quarter valued at $2,746,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WING has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Wingstop from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $363.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $345.00 to $280.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.96.

Wingstop Stock Up 2.2%

WING stock opened at $264.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.73. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.00 and a 52 week high of $388.14.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 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 value of $69,931.93. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,421.51. This trade 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. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wingstop Profile

Wingstop Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates restaurants under the Wingstop brand. Its restaurants offer classic wings, boneless wings, tenders, and hand-sauced-and-tossed in various flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches with fries and hand-cut carrots and celery that are cooked-to-order.