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

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WING. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $365.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $353.68.

Wingstop Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $224.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $257.45 and a 200 day moving average of $313.00. The company has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 60.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $433.86.

Wingstop declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 29.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 521.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Wingstop during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Wingstop by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during 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.