Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Downgraded by Northcoast Research to Neutral

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) was downgraded by analysts at Northcoast Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.05.

Wingstop Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $247.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a 52-week low of $242.58 and a 52-week high of $433.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $290.24 and its 200 day moving average is $341.28.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WING. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,206,062 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $342,763,000 after acquiring an additional 22,552 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,229 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Wingstop by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 861,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $358,571,000 after purchasing an additional 12,549 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Wingstop by 0.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 816,991 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,020,000 after purchasing an additional 7,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Wingstop by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 801,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $227,852,000 after purchasing an additional 154,055 shares in 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.