Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $357.67.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $151,802,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $115,301,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $106,123,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 760.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 381,745 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $108,497,000 after buying an additional 337,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $77,855,000.

Wingstop Trading Up 4.0 %

NASDAQ:WING opened at $227.12 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 61.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. Wingstop has a twelve month low of $209.61 and a twelve month high of $433.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $276.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.66.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.11%.

Wingstop declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.