Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $368.74.

WING has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $468.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’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 owns 266 shares in the company, valued at $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Wingstop by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 25,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 3.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 12,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its position in Wingstop by 1.2% in the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Wingstop by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,648,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $230,000.

Wingstop Trading Up 0.3 %

Wingstop stock opened at $291.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 85.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $241.78 and a 12-month high of $433.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $329.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $371.98.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 17.05% and a negative return on equity of 22.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wingstop will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 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.