HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,171 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WING. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth about $19,653,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 17,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Wingstop by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,630 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,168,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,528,000.

Wingstop Trading Up 4.0 %

WING stock opened at $229.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.80, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.98. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.60 and a twelve month high of $433.86.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 29.11%.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.