Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Receives $340.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $340.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WING shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Wingstop from $365.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Wingstop from $400.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total value of $69,931.93. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,421.51. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Wingstop by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,557,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $524,433,000 after buying an additional 294,786 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop in the 3rd quarter valued at about $375,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Wingstop by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,405,894 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $335,292,000 after acquiring an additional 456,861 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 296.2% during the third quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,227,000 after acquiring an additional 710,621 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 20.8% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 890,451 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $224,109,000 after acquiring an additional 153,082 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Down 2.5%

Wingstop stock opened at $265.43 on Thursday. Wingstop has a 52-week low of $204.00 and a 52-week high of $388.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $259.77 and its 200 day moving average is $274.28. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.23, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.77.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $175.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.10 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.51% and a negative return on equity of 16.17%. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wingstop will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.54%.

About Wingstop

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.