Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Trading 3.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) shot up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $243.30 and last traded at $244.70. 1,105,900 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 99% from the average session volume of 555,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WING has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wedbush dropped their target price on Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.73.

Wingstop Stock Up 2.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.44, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 2.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.15.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 29.11%.

Wingstop announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WING. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,206,062 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $342,763,000 after acquiring an additional 22,552 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,893,000 after buying an additional 262,229 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 861,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $358,571,000 after acquiring an additional 12,549 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Wingstop by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 816,991 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,020,000 after acquiring an additional 7,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 801,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $227,852,000 after buying an additional 154,055 shares in the last quarter.

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.