Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Trims Stock Holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 435,685 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 48,832 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $123,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Wingstop by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,229 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,765,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,123,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Wingstop by 950.6% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,011 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,971,000 after buying an additional 19,011 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Trading Down 2.3 %

WING opened at $224.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.98. The company has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 60.38, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.60 and a 1-year high of $433.86.

Wingstop declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued 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 0.48%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.68.

Wingstop 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.