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

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $368.16.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Northcoast Research upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $279.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 81.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a one year low of $266.45 and a one year high of $433.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $351.06.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 31.49%.

Wingstop declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Wingstop by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,294 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 8.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,691 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter worth approximately $5,989,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 4.3% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Wingstop during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000.

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.