Alberta Investment Management Corp Increases Stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 35.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,836 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,588 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $3,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Wingstop by 53.8% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,794,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Wingstop by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 897 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Wingstop by 7.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 758 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Trading Down 6.8 %

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $247.09 on Friday. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.58 and a twelve month high of $433.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $290.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.28.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 31.49%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WING. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wedbush dropped their price target on Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (down from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wingstop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.05.

Insider Activity

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares in the company, valued at $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.