Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 1.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,250 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 688 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $15,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 4,651.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Wingstop by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 56,991 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,623,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth $798,000. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Wingstop by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Up 5.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ WING traded up $20.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $403.89. 586,567 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,343. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.57. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.08 and a 52-week high of $431.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a PE ratio of 143.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.70.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.11. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.33% and a negative return on equity of 21.18%. The company had revenue of $155.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 45.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. This is a positive change from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 38.43%.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Donnie Upshaw sold 3,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.71, for a total value of $1,192,299.29. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 97 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,152.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.74, for a total transaction of $255,252.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,036,873.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donnie Upshaw sold 3,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.71, for a total value of $1,192,299.29. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 97 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,152.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $475.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Wingstop from $421.00 to $461.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Wingstop from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Wingstop from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $378.65.

Wingstop Company 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.