Blue Trust Inc. Increases Holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 103.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 53.8% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 942.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WING. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.05.

Wingstop Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $234.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.19 and a 52 week high of $433.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $288.89 and a 200 day moving average of $340.14.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.11%.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.