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

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": 35 analysts cover Wingstop with an average 12‑month price target of $311.76 (27 buys, 3 strong buys, 4 holds, 1 sell), though several brokers have recently cut targets—Stifel to $250 and Wells Fargo to $225 from much higher levels.
• Recent quarter: Wingstop reported $1.00 EPS (beat estimates of $0.84) with revenue of $175.7M (just below estimates) and revenue up 8.6% year‑over‑year; the stock opened at $186.31 and trades below its 50‑day ($214.23) and 200‑day ($239.49) moving averages with a P/E of 30.15.
• Capital moves and payouts: the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 ($1.20/year, 0.6% yield) and insiders have trimmed positions (notably two directors sold shares), while several institutional investors modestly adjusted or added stakes.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $311.7586.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WING shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Friday, March 27th.

Wingstop Price Performance

WING opened at $186.31 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $214.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 2.03. Wingstop has a one year low of $142.24 and a one year high of $388.14.

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

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Wingstop's payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was 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. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Wingstop by 175.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Wingstop by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,940 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth $603,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth $63,000.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.