American Century Companies Inc. Buys 22,552 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,206,062 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 22,552 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 4.13% of Wingstop worth $342,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WING. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 521.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Wingstop by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Wingstop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WING traded down $2.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $220.12. 148,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 819,637. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $261.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.24. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86.

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Wingstop announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WING has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Securities cut their price target on Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 price target (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.67.

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.