Virtu Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,551 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Wingstop by 138.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 14,921 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,208,000 after buying an additional 53,542 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 145.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,507 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,956,000 after purchasing an additional 5,630 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Wingstop by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,770 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Wingstop by 984.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 217,946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,683,000 after purchasing an additional 197,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 364.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,546,000 after purchasing an additional 10,460 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $220.37 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $259.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.40, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. Wingstop Inc. has a 52 week low of $205.60 and a 52 week high of $433.86.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WING. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $353.68.

Wingstop 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.