Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases 35 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $4,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Wingstop during the third quarter worth about $874,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 22.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,105,000. Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in Wingstop by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 7,564 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 60.7% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Down 6.7 %

Shares of WING stock opened at $301.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.85, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $240.60 and a 52 week high of $433.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $376.56.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). Wingstop had a net margin of 17.05% and a negative return on equity of 22.69%. The business had revenue of $162.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Wingstop’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.49%.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Northcoast Research upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $470.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark raised Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.74.

About Wingstop

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.