Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.27

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 0.27 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th.

Wingstop has raised its dividend payment by an average of 16.5% per year over the last three years. Wingstop has a payout ratio of 19.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Wingstop to earn $4.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.2%.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of Wingstop stock traded down $17.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $247.09. 1,947,886 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 727,409. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $291.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.94. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.04, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a 1-year low of $242.58 and a 1-year high of $433.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 $86,285.08. The trade was a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.05.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.