Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,405 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WING. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Wingstop by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 4.3% in the second quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 752 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 53.8% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Wingstop by 0.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,794,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $295.84 on Wednesday. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $241.78 and a twelve month high of $433.86. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 86.25, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $375.38.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. Wingstop’s revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WING shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $470.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark raised shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.74.

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.