Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Stake Lifted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Wingstop by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,326 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 28.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,770 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 147.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,040 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,814,000 after buying an additional 37,015 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 8.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 757 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in Wingstop in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,532,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on WING shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.67.

Wingstop Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WING opened at $213.20 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $270.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $325.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.53 and a 1-year high of $433.86.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 29.11%.

Wingstop announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.