Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Short Interest Up 16.0% in February

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a growth of 16.0% from the February 13th total of 1,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 744,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 6.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WING. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Wingstop by 521.4% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $214.65 on Thursday. Wingstop has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $433.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $264.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $320.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 57.86, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88.

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 issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.11%.

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 topic of a number of research reports. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.67.

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.