William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 110,318 Wingstop Inc. $WING

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 110,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $19,130,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Wingstop by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Wingstop by 197.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Wingstop during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 75.7% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WING has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $255.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $173.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.81.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING stock opened at $115.43 on Friday. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.44 and a fifty-two week high of $342.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The firm had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.