Wingstop Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.27 (NASDAQ:WING)

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 0.27 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th.

Wingstop has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.5% per year over the last three years. Wingstop has a payout ratio of 19.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Wingstop to earn $4.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.2%.

Wingstop Stock Down 6.8 %

NASDAQ WING traded down $17.93 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $247.09. 1,947,886 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 727,409. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a 1 year low of $242.58 and a 1 year high of $433.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $291.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.94.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WING. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (down from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.05.

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.