Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 9,713 Shares of Wingstop Inc. $WING

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 566,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 9,713 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.04% of Wingstop worth $135,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 54.3% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Wingstop by 197.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Wingstop during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Wingstop by 75.9% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Price Performance

WING stock opened at $145.59 on Thursday. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $116.35 and a one year high of $388.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 36.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.93.

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

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 29.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WING shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.82.

Wingstop Company 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.