Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $311.7586.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WING shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Friday, March 27th.

Wingstop Price Performance

WING opened at $186.31 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $214.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 2.03. Wingstop has a one year low of $142.24 and a one year high of $388.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Wingstop will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $141,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,750. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Wingstop by 175.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Wingstop by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth $603,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth $63,000.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.