Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Wingstop has a "Moderate Buy" consensus from 34 firms (25 buy, 3 strong buy, 5 hold, 1 sell) with an average 1‑year price target of $337.29, well above the recent ~$187 share price.
• Latest quarter: EPS of $1.00 beat the $0.84 estimate while revenue of $175.69M slightly missed expectations but rose 8.6% year‑over‑year, with a net margin of 25.0%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 (annualized $1.20, yield 0.6%, ex‑dividend Mar 6) and several directors have recently sold shares.

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-four ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, twenty-five have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $337.2857.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WING. Barclays cut their target price on Wingstop from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Wingstop from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $363.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $187.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.82. Wingstop has a 1-year low of $184.15 and a 1-year high of $388.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $250.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.42.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $175.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 25.01%.The firm's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio is 19.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wingstop news, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $141,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,093,750. The trade was a 11.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total value of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WING. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 959 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Wingstop by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 265 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership grew its stake in Wingstop by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 426 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in Wingstop by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 997 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period.

About Wingstop

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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