Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Acquires 86,077 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 47.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,657 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 86,077 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.92% of Wingstop worth $76,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Wingstop by 1.9% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Wingstop by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 861,783 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $358,571,000 after buying an additional 12,549 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 0.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 816,991 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $326,020,000 after buying an additional 7,204 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 418,418 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $174,095,000 after acquiring an additional 71,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter valued at $115,301,000.

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Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING traded up $0.62 during trading on Monday, hitting $224.62. 485,306 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 822,407. The business's fifty day moving average is $257.45 and its 200 day moving average is $311.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. Wingstop Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Wingstop's payout ratio is currently 29.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 target price (down from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $350.73.

Wingstop 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.