Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Raised to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $389.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, up from their previous price target of $385.00.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WING. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BTIG Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $468.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.16.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING opened at $280.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $305.69 and its 200-day moving average is $353.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $266.45 and a 12-month high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The business’s revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 31.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. The trade was a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in Wingstop by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Wingstop by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Wingstop by 384.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Wingstop by 942.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period.

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.