Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Upgraded at Guggenheim

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) was upgraded by research analysts at Guggenheim from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $280.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.90.

Wingstop Price Performance

Wingstop stock opened at $238.86 on Monday. Wingstop has a one year low of $231.28 and a one year high of $433.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $286.48 and its 200 day moving average is $338.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 64.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake 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 valued at $4,794,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 34.9% during the 4th 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 period.

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.