Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Wingstop has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating, signaling potential concerns about the company's stock performance.
• The latest consensus from analysts indicates a "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target price of $372.62, despite varied evaluations from several research firms.
• Recent insider activity includes CEO Michael Skipworth and SVP Marisa Carona selling substantial shares of the company, indicating possible confidence issues within management.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wingstop from $430.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Wingstop from $375.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. William Blair started coverage on Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $315.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $372.62.

Wingstop Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ WING opened at $254.99 on Monday. Wingstop has a 12 month low of $204.00 and a 12 month high of $401.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.50, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.78. The company's 50 day moving average is $290.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.53.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $172.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

In related news, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $1,666,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,842,034.18. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marisa Carona sold 11,938 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $4,421,118.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,838 shares of company stock worth $8,118,535. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Wingstop in the 1st quarter worth about $212,672,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Wingstop by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,646,934 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $371,517,000 after buying an additional 496,717 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Wingstop by 130.7% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 631,989 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $142,564,000 after buying an additional 358,044 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at about $118,211,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at about $114,758,000.

Wingstop Company Profile

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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