Wingstop Inc. (WING) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 7th

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th.

Wingstop has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.5% annually over the last three years. Wingstop has a payout ratio of 22.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Wingstop to earn $5.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.3%.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING stock opened at $229.26 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $281.73 and a 200 day moving average of $334.06. Wingstop has a 1 year low of $218.23 and a 1 year high of $433.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Northcoast Research lowered Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wedbush dropped their target price on Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.67.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.