Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Given New $375.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $389.00 to $375.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WING has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wingstop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.05.

Wingstop Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $247.09 on Thursday. Wingstop has a 52-week low of $242.58 and a 52-week high of $433.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $290.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.28. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.49%.

Wingstop announced that its board has approved a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’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 transaction of $86,285.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 521.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 53.8% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000.

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.