Clearbridge Investments LLC Trims Stock Position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 540,061 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 39,641 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.85% of Wingstop worth $153,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WING. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,301,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $106,123,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 984.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 217,946 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $90,683,000 after purchasing an additional 197,853 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 392.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 184,068 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $76,587,000 after purchasing an additional 146,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 268,657 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $76,352,000 after purchasing an additional 86,077 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on WING shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Guggenheim raised shares of Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price target on Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.73.

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Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of Wingstop stock traded down $15.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.73. 500,901 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 558,486. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $253.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.69. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 2.01. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $433.86.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Wingstop's payout ratio is 29.11%.

Wingstop announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Company 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.