Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Trading Up 7.9% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) shot up 7.9% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $236.18 and last traded at $239.05. 303,640 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 640,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $221.65.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WING has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $267.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Melius Research set a $350.00 price objective on Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.75.

Wingstop Stock Down 6.8%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $259.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.80.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 25.01%.The firm had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wingstop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and margin improvement — Wingstop delivered $1.00 EPS vs. $0.84 consensus and reported stronger adjusted EBITDA and margin outcomes that relieved investor fears about profitability. PR Newswire: Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Aggressive unit expansion and international growth — 493 net new openings in 2025 (20% YoY unit growth) and new international markets support long‑term revenue leverage and offset weaker domestic comps. PR Newswire: Openings/Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance and capital returns underpin outlook — Management gave 2026 targets (low‑single‑digit domestic comps, continued strong unit growth) while maintaining buybacks/dividend, which supports shareholder returns. MarketBeat: Guidance & Capital Return
• Neutral Sentiment: Digital/AI initiatives could help margins but are early — Wingstop highlighted Smart Kitchen and AI tools to speed off‑premise orders and boost digital sales; promising but execution and scale matter. QSR: AI Kitchens & Loyalty
• Negative Sentiment: Domestic same‑store sales weakness — Wingstop reported its first full‑year decline in comps in 22 years and flagged Hispanic and lower‑income customer weakness, a core demand concern for near‑term growth. Barron’s: Comps Decline
• Negative Sentiment: Franchisee performance concerns and a downgrade narrative — Coverage pointed to franchisee execution issues that could pressure operations and margins if not resolved. Seeking Alpha: Franchisee Performance
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target trims — RBC and Barclays cut targets (RBC 350→340, Barclays 335→330) despite keeping bullish ratings, adding short‑term downward pressure alongside mixed analyst actions; other firms reaffirmed higher targets. The Fly: RBC PT Cut

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total transaction of $69,931.93. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,373,421.51. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WING. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 8,879 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 3,471 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 123.9% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 102,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,861,000 after purchasing an additional 56,833 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 85.6% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,922 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,341,000 after acquiring an additional 4,576 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Wingstop by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 741,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $249,557,000 after purchasing an additional 109,108 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 287.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares in the last quarter.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.