Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Receives $380.52 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $376.92.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WING. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wingstop from $367.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Wingstop from $405.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Wednesday, September 17th.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING opened at $251.68 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $306.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.23. Wingstop has a 1 year low of $204.00 and a 1 year high of $425.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.87.

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

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.34, for a total transaction of $1,666,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Alex Kaleida sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.09, for a total value of $2,030,886.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,144,864.58. The trade was 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 worth $8,118,535. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Wingstop by 43.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,646,934 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $371,517,000 after purchasing an additional 496,717 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,557,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $524,433,000 after buying an additional 294,786 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the 1st quarter worth $212,672,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Wingstop by 17.3% in the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 741,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $249,557,000 after acquiring an additional 109,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Wingstop by 83.1% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 737,369 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $248,302,000 after acquiring an additional 334,583 shares in the last quarter.

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.