Traders Purchase Large Volume of Wingstop Put Options (NASDAQ:WING)

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 4,384 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 168% compared to the average volume of 1,638 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WING. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.05.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Wingstop by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,206,062 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $342,763,000 after purchasing an additional 22,552 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Wingstop by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $326,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,229 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Wingstop by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 861,783 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $358,571,000 after purchasing an additional 12,549 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Wingstop by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 816,991 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $326,020,000 after purchasing an additional 7,204 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 801,732 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $227,852,000 after acquiring an additional 154,055 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Down 5.3 %

WING traded down $13.07 on Friday, hitting $234.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,991,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,901. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $290.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.28. Wingstop has a 12 month low of $232.19 and a 12 month high of $433.86. The firm has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop's payout ratio is 29.11%.

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.