Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Up 7.9% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) shot up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $236.18 and last traded at $239.05. 303,640 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 640,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $221.65.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 19.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Melius Research set a $350.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wingstop from $363.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $336.75.

Wingstop Stock Down 6.8%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $259.76 and a 200 day moving average of $267.94. The firm has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.80.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $175.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Wingstop

Here are the key news stories impacting Wingstop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and margin improvement — Wingstop delivered $1.00 EPS vs. $0.84 consensus and reported stronger adjusted EBITDA and margin outcomes that relieved investor fears about profitability. PR Newswire: Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Aggressive unit expansion and international growth — 493 net new openings in 2025 (20% YoY unit growth) and new international markets support long‑term revenue leverage and offset weaker domestic comps. PR Newswire: Openings/Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance and capital returns underpin outlook — Management gave 2026 targets (low‑single‑digit domestic comps, continued strong unit growth) while maintaining buybacks/dividend, which supports shareholder returns. MarketBeat: Guidance & Capital Return
• Neutral Sentiment: Digital/AI initiatives could help margins but are early — Wingstop highlighted Smart Kitchen and AI tools to speed off‑premise orders and boost digital sales; promising but execution and scale matter. QSR: AI Kitchens & Loyalty
• Negative Sentiment: Domestic same‑store sales weakness — Wingstop reported its first full‑year decline in comps in 22 years and flagged Hispanic and lower‑income customer weakness, a core demand concern for near‑term growth. Barron’s: Comps Decline
• Negative Sentiment: Franchisee performance concerns and a downgrade narrative — Coverage pointed to franchisee execution issues that could pressure operations and margins if not resolved. Seeking Alpha: Franchisee Performance
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target trims — RBC and Barclays cut targets (RBC 350→340, Barclays 335→330) despite keeping bullish ratings, adding short‑term downward pressure alongside mixed analyst actions; other firms reaffirmed higher targets. The Fly: RBC PT Cut

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total transaction of $69,931.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,373,421.51. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Wingstop by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,111,089 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $503,475,000 after buying an additional 58,386 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Wingstop by 23.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,557,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $524,433,000 after acquiring an additional 294,786 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter valued at approximately $375,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,405,894 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $335,292,000 after purchasing an additional 456,861 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,173,613 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $279,895,000 after purchasing an additional 70,224 shares during the period.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.