Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 62,168 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lessened its position in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 828,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 62,168 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $197,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop in the third quarter valued at approximately $375,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Wingstop by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,405,894 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $335,292,000 after purchasing an additional 456,861 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its stake in Wingstop by 296.2% during the 3rd quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,227,000 after purchasing an additional 710,621 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Wingstop by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 767,208 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $193,091,000 after purchasing an additional 26,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Wingstop by 160.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 740,896 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $186,469,000 after buying an additional 456,637 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $162.73 on Wednesday. Wingstop Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.35 and a 12 month high of $381.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.48, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.82.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 15.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $183.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 29.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WING shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $240.00 in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.70.

Wingstop Profile

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.