Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Receives $368.74 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $368.74.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $468.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen lowered 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. Northcoast Research raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Wingstop Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of WING stock opened at $284.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $321.12 and a 200-day moving average of $367.96. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $241.78 and a 12-month high of $433.86. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.78.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.49%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wingstop news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Wingstop by 4.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 25,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,743,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Wingstop by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at about $230,000.

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.