Wingstop Inc. (WING) will pay a special dividend of $5.00 per share in 2020. Earlier this year the restaurant operator already announced a 27.3 percent dividend hike to 14 cents per share, marking the 3rd consecutive year of dividend increases. The special dividend is in conjunction with the completion of the company's previously announced $480 million recapitalization.

The special dividend is payable on December 3, 2020 to stockholders of record as of November 20, 2020. The regular annual rate of 56 cents per share yields 0.5% at a stock price of $116.

From the company's press release: "The third quarter saw continued topline momentum with domestic same-store sales growth of 25.4%, 37.7% on a two-year basis, resulting in our restaurant average unit volumes now exceeding $1.4 million, further enhancing our best in class unit economics, which led to 43 net new restaurants and the strengthening of our development pipeline," commented Charlie Morrison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wingstop. "The special dividend we announced today of $5.00 per share underscores the strength of our asset-lite, highly franchised model and our ability to return capital to stockholders. I would like to express my gratitude to our team members and brand partners for delivering these tremendous results."

Wingstop Inc. operates and franchises restaurants across the United States, Mexico, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, and Panama. The Wing Experts’ menu features classic and boneless wings with 11 bold, distinctive flavors including Original Hot, Cajun, Atomic, Mild, Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Louisiana Rub, and Mango Habanero. Wingstop’s wings are always cooked to order, hand-sauced and tossed and served with a variety of house-made sides including fresh-cut, seasoned fries. Wingstop was founded in 1994 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas and currently operates more than 1,100 restaurants.