American Century Companies Inc. Has $359.61 Million Holdings in Wingstop Inc. $WING

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 8.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,428,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 128,530 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Wingstop worth $359,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Wingstop by 123.9% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 102,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,861,000 after acquiring an additional 56,833 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 741,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $249,557,000 after acquiring an additional 109,108 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 61.2% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,825 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 287.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 83.1% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 737,369 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $248,302,000 after purchasing an additional 334,583 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WING. Northcoast Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Melius Research set a $350.00 price target on Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wingstop from $267.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Wingstop from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Wingstop in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.07.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $259.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 41.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.80. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $204.00 and a one year high of $388.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $260.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.78.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 25.01%.The business had revenue of $175.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total value of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,465.59. This trade represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $141,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,750. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.