Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Sold by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,546 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 22,262 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned about 0.80% of Wingstop worth $66,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WING. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Wingstop by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,206,062 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $342,763,000 after buying an additional 22,552 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $326,893,000 after acquiring an additional 262,229 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 801,732 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $227,852,000 after acquiring an additional 154,055 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 573,999 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $163,131,000 after purchasing an additional 101,247 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Wingstop by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 547,831 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $155,694,000 after purchasing an additional 14,124 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Wingstop from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Gordon Haskett upgraded Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Wingstop from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.09.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING stock traded down $8.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $267.34. 794,634 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 603,752. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $230.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.47. Wingstop Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.00 and a 12-month high of $433.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.80.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $171.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.25 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.37% and a negative return on equity of 21.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Wingstop's payout ratio is 18.09%.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 637 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.07, for a total transaction of $173,945.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,177.19. This represents a 55.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wingstop Company Profile

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.