Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Price Target Cut to $340.00 by Analysts at Benchmark

Key Points

• Benchmark analysts have reduced Wingstop's price target from $410.00 to $340.00, yet still maintain a "buy" rating for the stock, indicating a potential upside of 39.43%.
• The stock has recently traded down 1.5%, closing at $243.85 on Monday, with significant institutional interest reflected in multiple analysts adjusting their price targets.
• Insider trading activity has been notable, with CFO Alex Kaleida and SVP Marisa Carona selling shares valued at over $6 million combined, resulting in a significant decrease in their ownership stakes.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $410.00 to $340.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Benchmark's target price suggests a potential upside of 39.43% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WING. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Wingstop from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Melius began coverage on Wingstop in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wingstop from $367.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Wingstop from $375.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Wingstop from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $377.72.

Wingstop Trading Down 1.5%

Wingstop stock traded down $3.59 on Monday, hitting $243.85. 107,810 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 825,802. The firm has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.87. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $309.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.28. Wingstop has a 1 year low of $204.00 and a 1 year high of $425.00.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $174.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.60 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 25.61%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Wingstop will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wingstop news, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.09, for a total value of $2,030,886.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at $3,144,864.58. This trade represents a 39.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total value of $4,421,118.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,838 shares of company stock worth $8,118,535 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 134.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 93.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 4,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 129 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates restaurants under the Wingstop brand. Its restaurants offer classic wings, boneless wings, tenders, and hand-sauced-and-tossed in various flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches with fries and hand-cut carrots and celery that are cooked-to-order.

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