Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Wingstop has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 30 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of about $259.15.
• Several firms recently cut their price targets or downgraded the stock, including Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim, Benchmark, and Bank of America, signaling some near-term caution despite the overall positive view.
• The company reported Q1 earnings of $1.18 per share, beating expectations, while revenue grew 7.4% year over year; Wingstop also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, or $1.20 annually.

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $259.1481.

WING has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Wingstop from $255.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Wingstop from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Wingstop from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th.

Wingstop Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $138.12 on Thursday. Wingstop has a twelve month low of $116.35 and a twelve month high of $381.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.79. The company's fifty day moving average is $151.30 and its 200 day moving average is $194.08.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 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 $183.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.82 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 15.77%.Wingstop's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wingstop will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Wingstop by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,111,089 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $503,475,000 after purchasing an additional 58,386 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Wingstop by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,405,894 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $335,292,000 after purchasing an additional 456,861 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Wingstop by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,173,613 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $279,895,000 after buying an additional 70,224 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Wingstop by 296.2% in the third quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,227,000 after buying an additional 710,621 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 798,616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $123,761,000 after buying an additional 123,315 shares in the last quarter.

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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