Wingstop Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 (NASDAQ:WING)

Key Points

• Wingstop Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share (annualized $1.20) payable June 5 to holders of record on May 15, implying a yield of about 0.7% and a dividend payout ratio around 24% that analysts view as covered by earnings.
• The company beat on earnings with $1.18 EPS versus $1.04 expected but missed revenue estimates ($183.7M reported vs. $191.3M expected), while revenue rose 7.4% year-over-year and net margin was strong at 25.0%.
• Shares fell about 1% to $171.21 on heavy volume, trading well below the 52-week high of $388.14; Wingstop has a market cap of $4.68 billion and a P/E of 27.7.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, June 5th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th.

Wingstop has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 7 years. Wingstop has a dividend payout ratio of 24.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Wingstop to earn $5.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.4%.

Wingstop Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of WING traded down $1.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $171.21. 3,783,635 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,067,408. Wingstop has a 52-week low of $142.24 and a 52-week high of $388.14. The company's 50-day moving average price is $199.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.69. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.03.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The company had revenue of $183.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Wingstop's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc NASDAQ: WING is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company's core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.