Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.30 Per Share

Key Points

• Wingstop Inc. has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, marking an 11.1% increase from its previous dividend of $0.27, scheduled for distribution on September 5th.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.00 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.88, and realized a revenue of $174.33 million.
• Analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating for Wingstop's stock, with a target price averaging $379.52, driven by upgraded ratings from multiple investment firms.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 31st, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, September 5th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a 11.1% increase from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27.

Wingstop has a dividend payout ratio of 22.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Wingstop to earn $5.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.3%.

Wingstop Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of WING traded up $9.08 on Thursday, reaching $377.34. 1,152,362 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 831,339. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $338.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $284.58. Wingstop has a 12 month low of $204.00 and a 12 month high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $174.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.60 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 18.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WING has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wingstop from $296.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $379.52.

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.

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