Wingstop’s (WING) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $330.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $375.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WING. Benchmark upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $468.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.32.

Wingstop Stock Up 0.7 %

Wingstop stock opened at $305.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $300.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $348.99. Wingstop has a 52 week low of $266.45 and a 52 week high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wingstop will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in Wingstop by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,794,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 313 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 41 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.