Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Wingstop from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Wingstop from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Wingstop from $363.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $337.29.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING stock opened at $183.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.82. Wingstop has a 52 week low of $183.00 and a 52 week high of $388.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.60.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is 19.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $141,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,375 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,750. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WING. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 1,650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 197.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 54.3% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter.

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.