Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 36,232 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 507.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,378 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 36,232 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Wingstop were worth $12,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,177,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Wingstop by 779.1% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,247,000 after acquiring an additional 16,361 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 475.0% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 69,234 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,676,000 after acquiring an additional 57,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conway Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Wingstop during the third quarter worth about $3,544,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities dropped their target price on Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.67.

Wingstop Trading Down 2.1 %

Wingstop stock opened at $215.46 on Friday. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.60 and a 12 month high of $433.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $262.51 and its 200-day moving average is $318.12. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.08, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.11%.

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

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.