Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 103,653 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 713,338 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 103,653 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.44% of Wingstop worth $202,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth $10,177,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 277.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,771 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,356,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 779.1% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,247,000 after acquiring an additional 16,361 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 475.0% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 69,234 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,676,000 after acquiring an additional 57,193 shares during the period. Finally, Conway Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Wingstop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,544,000.

Wingstop Trading Up 4.8 %

Wingstop stock opened at $236.40 on Wednesday. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.60 and a 12 month high of $433.86. The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $309.67.

Wingstop announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WING. Jefferies Financial Group raised Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush cut their target price on Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $350.73.

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.