Axiom Investors LLC DE Has $8.83 Million Holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Axiom Investors LLC DE decreased its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 7,858 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $8,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WING. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Wingstop by 138.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 14,921 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,208,000 after purchasing an additional 53,542 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Wingstop by 984.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 217,946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,683,000 after buying an additional 197,853 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Wingstop by 364.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,546,000 after buying an additional 10,460 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Wingstop in the 3rd quarter worth $351,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Wingstop during the 3rd quarter worth $1,802,000.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $224.00 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $257.45 and its 200-day moving average is $311.98. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.60 and a 52 week high of $433.86. The company has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 60.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88.

Wingstop announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given 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 (DPR) is presently 29.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities cut their price target on Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.68.

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.