Short Interest in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Increases By 36.1%

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,810,000 shares, an increase of 36.1% from the November 30th total of 1,330,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 518,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING stock traded down $5.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $285.37. The stock had a trading volume of 380,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,585. The firm has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 83.20, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78. Wingstop has a fifty-two week low of $241.78 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $324.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $370.09.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.05% and a negative return on equity of 22.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Wingstop will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Wingstop's payout ratio is 31.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WING has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $468.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $470.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 4.1% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 193,307 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $81,703,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,249,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,010,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 36.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 602,990 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $254,860,000 after buying an additional 161,600 shares during the period. Finally, Conway Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter valued at $3,544,000.

Wingstop Company 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.