Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares gapped down premarket — Wingstop opened at $182.81 after a $189.37 close and was last near $181.83, about a 6.6% decline.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $302.62, though recent reports have mixed targets and upgrades (e.g., Loop Capital $317, Piper Sandler to overweight at $190, Citigroup to buy at $230).
• Recent fundamentals: the company beat EPS ($1.00 vs. $0.84) while revenue slightly missed but rose 8.6% year‑over‑year; Wingstop pays a $0.30 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.20, ~0.7% yield) and insiders have recently sold shares.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $189.37, but opened at $182.81. Wingstop shares last traded at $181.8250, with a volume of 100,962 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised shares of Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised shares of Wingstop from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $286.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wingstop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $302.62.

Wingstop Stock Down 6.6%

The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 2.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $202.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.67.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Wingstop's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In related news, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $141,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,375 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,750. This trade represents a 11.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total value of $703,971.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $673,465.59. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 123.9% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 102,687 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,861,000 after buying an additional 56,833 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 3rd quarter valued at $375,317,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 57,586 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $14,493,000 after acquiring an additional 8,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 160.6% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 740,896 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $186,469,000 after acquiring an additional 456,637 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 553.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,349 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $9,861,000 after acquiring an additional 35,020 shares during the period.

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.