Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 65 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 4.1% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 193,307 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $81,703,000 after buying an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop in the second quarter worth $2,249,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter worth $5,010,000. Conway Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter valued at $3,544,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 40.8% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 465,368 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $193,630,000 after purchasing an additional 134,802 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $272.55 on Thursday. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.50 and a 52-week high of $433.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $311.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $358.30. The company has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.46, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.09). Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Wingstop’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.49%.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WING. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $468.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.