Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Price Target Cut to $191.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered Wingstop’s price target to $191 from $208 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying approximately 45% upside from the stock’s $131.72 trading price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Wingstop holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $233.74, despite several recent target reductions.
• Wingstop’s latest quarter beat earnings expectations with $1.18 in EPS versus $1.02 forecast, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $185.56 million but fell short of consensus estimates.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Citigroup from $208.00 to $191.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Citigroup's price target would suggest a potential upside of 45.00% from the company's current price.

WING has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Wingstop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $285.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $238.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Wingstop to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.74.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WING traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,456,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,275. Wingstop has a fifty-two week low of $95.82 and a fifty-two week high of $302.80. The business's fifty day moving average is $111.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. Wingstop's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WING. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter worth approximately $481,314,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP lifted its position in Wingstop by 20.0% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $260,115,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Wingstop by 44.5% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 942,943 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $163,516,000 after purchasing an additional 290,501 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Wingstop by 2.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 863,951 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $149,751,000 after purchasing an additional 16,907 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop during the second quarter valued at about $147,440,000.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc is a restaurant company that specializes in made-to-order chicken wings and related menu items. Its offerings include classic and boneless wings prepared with a variety of signature flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches, tenders, seasoned fries, sides, dips and beverages. The company serves customers through dine-in, takeout, delivery and digital ordering channels.

Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, Wingstop has developed primarily as a franchised restaurant brand. The company supports its franchisees through brand marketing, restaurant development, operating systems, menu innovation and supply-chain coordination, while franchisees generally own and operate individual locations.

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