Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 49.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,151 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 6,024 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $1,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WING. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth about $427,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Wingstop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Wingstop by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 816,991 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,020,000 after buying an additional 7,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Wingstop by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 758 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $468.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.74.

Wingstop Price Performance

Wingstop stock opened at $274.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $312.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $360.41. Wingstop Inc. has a 1 year low of $256.50 and a 1 year high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Research analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.49%.

Wingstop declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.