Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Cut to “Neutral” at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

WING has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.05.

Wingstop Trading Down 5.3 %

NASDAQ:WING opened at $234.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $288.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.14. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $232.19 and a 12-month high of $433.86.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other 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 transaction of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WING. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Wingstop during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter.

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.