Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price Up 6.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Wingstop shares rose 6.6% to about $117.78 in Friday trading, despite volume running 63% below the daily average.
• The company beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $1.18 per share versus the $1.02 consensus; revenue increased 6.5% year over year but fell short of expectations.
• Wingstop increased its quarterly dividend to $0.33 from $0.30, while institutional investors—including California State Teachers Retirement System and BlackRock—made significant purchases. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, though several recently lowered price targets.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) traded up 6.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $118.00 and last traded at $117.7830. Approximately 433,121 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 1,161,402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WING has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler set a $173.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $240.33.

Wingstop Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $128.15 and its 200-day moving average is $157.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.79.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The company had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Wingstop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Wingstop by 16,825.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,475,941 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $949,583,000 after buying an additional 5,443,588 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $481,314,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $147,440,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 296.2% in the third quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $239,227,000 after acquiring an additional 710,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth approximately $80,456,000.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc NASDAQ: WING is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company's core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.

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