373,411 Shares in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 373,411 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $106,123,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.28% of Wingstop as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 984.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 217,946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,683,000 after purchasing an additional 197,853 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Wingstop by 364.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,546,000 after buying an additional 10,460 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Wingstop by 5.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,603 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 22.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,859 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,190,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the third quarter worth approximately $746,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WING. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered their price target on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.73.

Wingstop Stock Performance

WING opened at $236.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $255.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.67. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.60 and a twelve month high of $433.86.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 29.11%.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.