Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $375.00 to $350.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target points to a potential upside of 53.09% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $390.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.67.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $228.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $336.73. Wingstop has a twelve month low of $219.12 and a twelve month high of $433.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of 61.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.81.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Wingstop by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,794,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Wingstop by 62.5% during the 4th 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. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 37 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.