Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $231.28 and last traded at $232.35, with a volume of 142446 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $236.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.90.

Wingstop Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $287.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $339.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.11%.

Wingstop declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares in the company, valued at $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth about $151,802,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter valued at $115,301,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $106,123,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Wingstop by 760.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 381,745 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $108,497,000 after buying an additional 337,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Wingstop in the fourth quarter valued at $77,855,000.

About Wingstop

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.