Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 713,338 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 103,653 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.44% of Wingstop worth $202,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WING. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 521.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth about $71,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WING. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $330.00 price target (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Northcoast Research downgraded Wingstop from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wingstop presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $350.73.

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Wingstop Price Performance

NASDAQ:WING traded up $6.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $242.78. 2,292,334 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 558,469. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.44, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 2.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.69. Wingstop Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $433.86.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.11%.

Wingstop announced that its board has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.