Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Short Interest Up 16.0% in February

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, an increase of 16.0% from the February 13th total of 1,630,000 shares. Approximately 6.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 744,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING opened at $220.19 on Friday. Wingstop has a 1-year low of $205.60 and a 1-year high of $433.86. The stock has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 59.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $263.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.30.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 29.11%.

Wingstop announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Wingstop by 521.4% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Wingstop by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WING. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Northcoast Research lowered Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wedbush cut their price target on Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.67.

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.