Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases 101,247 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 573,999 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,247 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.97% of Wingstop worth $163,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Wingstop by 521.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 34.9% during 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. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on WING shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $350.73.

Wingstop Trading Up 4.8 %

NASDAQ:WING opened at $236.40 on Wednesday. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $433.86. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 63.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $255.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.67.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.11%.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.