Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 475.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,234 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,193 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Wingstop worth $19,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 861,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $358,571,000 after purchasing an additional 12,549 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 816,991 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $326,020,000 after acquiring an additional 7,204 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 647,677 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $269,485,000 after acquiring an additional 46,772 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 465,368 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $193,630,000 after acquiring an additional 134,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 418,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $174,095,000 after acquiring an additional 71,300 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares in the company, valued at $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WING has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.90.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $238.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 64.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.28 and a 1 year high of $433.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $286.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $338.26.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.11%.

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.