Diametric Capital LP Buys New Position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Diametric Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,666 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,894,000. Wingstop comprises about 1.3% of Diametric Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 573,999 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $163,131,000 after purchasing an additional 101,247 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 238,942 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $67,907,000 after buying an additional 7,899 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,229 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth about $1,765,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target (down from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.73.

Wingstop Price Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $225.58 on Tuesday. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $256.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $310.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 60.80, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.11%.

Wingstop declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.