Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 669 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Wingstop worth $4,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,765,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,123,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in Wingstop by 950.6% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,011 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,971,000 after acquiring an additional 19,011 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Wingstop by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 268,657 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,352,000 after acquiring an additional 86,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 8,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WING shares. Northcoast Research downgraded Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $350.73.

Wingstop Stock Up 4.8 %

WING stock opened at $236.40 on Wednesday. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $433.86. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.72, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.67.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

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

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.