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

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) 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.

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) 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

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.