Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $290.30, but opened at $371.00. Wingstop shares last traded at $369.31, with a volume of 822,067 shares trading hands.

The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Wingstop had a net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 18.85%. The company had revenue of $174.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Wingstop’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WING. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $367.00 price target (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wingstop from $296.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $274.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.07, for a total transaction of $173,945.59. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,177.19. This trade represents a 55.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.34, for a total transaction of $3,373,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 47,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,919,074.60. The trade was a 17.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 16,960 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,918 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter valued at $106,123,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,229 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Up 26.9%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $338.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 61.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.84.

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.