Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 60,651 Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 728,069 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 60,651 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 2.48% of Wingstop worth $266,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,420 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Wingstop by 4,651.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING stock traded up $2.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $385.15. The stock had a trading volume of 296,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,546. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $396.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $356.68. Wingstop Inc. has a one year low of $150.08 and a one year high of $431.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.06, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.69.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.22. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 19.64% and a net margin of 16.75%. The business had revenue of $145.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kate S. Lavelle sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.57, for a total transaction of $295,927.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,431.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Wingstop news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 645 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.74, for a total transaction of $255,252.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,036,873.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kate S. Lavelle sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.57, for a total transaction of $295,927.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,431.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,443,547 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WING has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Wingstop from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Wingstop from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Wingstop from $350.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.89.

About Wingstop

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.