Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Wingstop Inc. experienced a 35.8% increase in short interest in August, with a total of 2,540,000 shares shorted as of August 15th, indicating growing bearish sentiment among investors.
• Analysts have rated Wingstop favorably, with four giving it a Strong Buy rating, while the stock's average price target is set at $379.52, reflecting optimistic future performance.
• The company recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.27 to $0.30, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4% for investors.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,540,000 shares, agrowthof35.8% from the July 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 733,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately9.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Approximately9.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 733,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WING has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Westpark Capital raised Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Wingstop from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. William Blair started coverage on Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Wingstop from $375.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.52.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING opened at $309.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.87. Wingstop has a 1 year low of $204.00 and a 1 year high of $433.86. The company's fifty day moving average is $328.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.22.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.61% and a negative return on equity of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $174.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $1,666,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,842,034.18. The trade was a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $4,421,118.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,838 shares of company stock worth $8,118,535 over the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 93.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 106.9% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 134.2% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Wingstop during the second quarter worth about $43,000.

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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