Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Stake Lowered by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,068 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.06% of Wingstop worth $7,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WING. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 1st quarter valued at $307,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 177.0% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,917 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,354,000.

Wingstop Stock Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ WING opened at $328.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.78, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $352.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $378.34. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $240.60 and a twelve month high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.05% and a negative return on equity of 22.69%. The business’s revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 31.49%.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WING has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $468.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.74.

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.