Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• The rating for Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) has been upgraded to Moderate Buy by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada.
• Wingstop reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.00, surpassing the estimated EPS of $0.88, with a revenue increase of 12% compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have given Wingstop an average target price of $374.54, with four Strong Buy ratings and twenty-one Buy ratings among research analysts.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on WING. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $296.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $374.54.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $249.75 on Wednesday. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $204.00 and a 12-month high of $407.09. The company has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.78. The firm's 50-day moving average is $296.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.45.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.61% and a negative return on equity of 17.07%. The company had revenue of $174.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 106.9% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 134.2% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter worth $43,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 4,200.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 129 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 119 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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