Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Up 4.9% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) rose 4.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $230.57 and last traded at $231.13. Approximately 104,012 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 535,060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WING shares. Northcoast Research cut shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.68.

Wingstop Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.03, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $259.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.57.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 29.11%.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $151,802,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth about $115,301,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wingstop in the fourth quarter valued at about $106,123,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Wingstop by 760.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 381,745 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $108,497,000 after purchasing an additional 337,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter valued at about $77,855,000.

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.