Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

by · The Cerbat Gem

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING – Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $368.74.

WING has been the topic of several recent research reports. Northcoast Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $468.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WING

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,285.08. The trade was a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 5.0% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 752 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 53.8% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Down 1.9 %

Wingstop stock opened at $285.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $324.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $369.90. The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78. Wingstop has a 52 week low of $241.78 and a 52 week high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $162.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.05% and a negative return on equity of 22.69%. The business’s revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Wingstop will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.49%.

Wingstop Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

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