Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) to Buy

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $270.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.54% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WING. Barclays dropped their target price on Wingstop from $359.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.73.

Wingstop Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $224.00 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $257.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.98. The company has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 60.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. Wingstop has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 22,552 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 29.5% during 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 861,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $358,571,000 after acquiring an additional 12,549 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Wingstop by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 period. 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 buying an additional 154,055 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.