Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING)

Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $270.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WING. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Securities cut their price objective on Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Wingstop from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.68.

Wingstop Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $220.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.40, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $259.33 and its 200 day moving average is $314.57. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $433.86.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 29.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WING. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 0.3% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,794,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Wingstop by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 795 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period.

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.