Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Holdings in Wingstop Inc. $WING

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 566,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 9,713 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Wingstop were worth $135,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 265 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Wingstop by 54.3% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Wingstop by 2.3% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Wingstop by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of WING opened at $145.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.93. Wingstop Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.35 and a twelve month high of $388.14.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WING shares. Mizuho set a $280.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $283.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.82.

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.