Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 38,473 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Verition Fund Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 62.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,655 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 38,473 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Wingstop worth $9,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 5.0% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 547 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Wingstop by 60.3% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 93 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in 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 during the period.

Wingstop Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WING traded down $2.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $328.77. 215,536 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 560,424. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.06 and a 1-year 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 3.06 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $363.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $380.53.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released 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 analyst estimates of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WING shares. Benchmark raised shares of Wingstop from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their target price 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 raised Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.