Wingstop Shares Jump in Debut

Chicken-wing chain Wingstop Restaurants Inc. became the latest company to feed investors' appetites for fast-casual dining as shares soared in their trading debut Friday.

Wingstop shares opened at $30.50, sharply above their IPO price of $19.

The Dallas chain, founded in 1994 and previously owned by private-equity firm Roark Capital Group, said it was seeking to raise about $110 million in the initial public offering.

Shares began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where Chief Executive Charles Morrison opened trading this morning.

Recent IPOs in the fast-casual space, which features more narrowly-focused menus and higher-quality ingredients, have been cheered by investors. Shares in burger joints Shake Shack Inc. and Habit Restaurants more than doubled in their recent debuts, while Bojangles shares rose 40% out of the gate when the chicken-and-biscuit purveyor went public last month.

Wingstop said late Thursday that it would sell 5.8 million shares and priced the offering at $19 a share, well above the expected $12 to $14 range. That share amount doesn't count a so-called overallotment option, which gives underwriters the opportunity to sell additional shares under certain circumstances. In an earlier filing, the company said it expected to raise up to $86.25 million.

Wingstop has 712 restaurants, 97% of them franchised, across 36 states and six countries. The chain's number of domestic restaurants has increased 37.5% since the end of 2011, while domestic same-store sales grew through 11 straight quarters.

The company reported its profit increased 19% to $9 million for the fiscal year ended in December, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Total revenue increased 14% from a year earlier to $67.4 million.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at [e-mail]

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