Brokerages Set Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Target Price at $383.32

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $385.72.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WING. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Wingstop from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $385.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Northcoast Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark raised shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $304.69 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $343.57. Wingstop has a twelve month low of $266.45 and a twelve month high of $433.86. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 88.83, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WING. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,206,062 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $342,763,000 after purchasing an additional 22,552 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $326,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,229 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 861,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $358,571,000 after purchasing an additional 12,549 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 0.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 816,991 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $326,020,000 after purchasing an additional 7,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 801,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $227,852,000 after purchasing an additional 154,055 shares in the last quarter.

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.