Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has raised its price target for Wingstop's stock from $275 to $345, signifying a shift in investor sentiment despite a projected downside of 7% from the current price.
• Currently, Wingstop has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a majority giving strong buy ratings, and an average price target of $363.52.
• For the most recent quarter, Wingstop reported earnings per share of $1.00, exceeding estimates and showcasing a 12% year-over-year revenue increase.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $275.00 to $345.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price would suggest a potential downside of 4.81% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on WING. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Wingstop from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Melius initiated coverage on Wingstop in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down previously from $425.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.52.

Wingstop Price Performance

WING stock traded down $14.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $362.45. 1,199,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 770,947. The firm's 50-day moving average is $340.50 and its 200-day moving average is $285.90. The company has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.41, a PEG ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 1.84. Wingstop has a 12 month low of $204.00 and a 12 month high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $174.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 637 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.07, for a total transaction of $173,945.59. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 517 shares in the company, valued at $141,177.19. The trade was a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total value of $1,666,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,842,034.18. This represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,475 shares of company stock worth $11,665,881. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the first quarter valued at approximately $212,672,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $151,802,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 43.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,646,934 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $371,517,000 after buying an additional 496,717 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 130.7% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 631,989 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $142,564,000 after buying an additional 358,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 760.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 381,745 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $108,497,000 after buying an additional 337,401 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.