Everence Capital Management Inc. Invests $259,000 in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 910 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Wingstop by 384.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $282.23 on Wednesday. Wingstop Inc. has a 1-year low of $245.56 and a 1-year high of $433.86. The stock has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $313.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $363.38.

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

Wingstop declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 31.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WING shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark upgraded Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $468.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.