Cerity Partners LLC Grows Position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 145.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,507 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,630 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $3,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the second quarter worth $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 93 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 384.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of WING opened at $328.77 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $364.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $380.91. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.06 and a 12-month high of $433.86. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.76.

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). The company had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.05% and a negative return on equity of 22.69%. Wingstop’s revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WING has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Northcoast Research upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $470.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.74.

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.