Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price Up 9.6% – Time to Buy?

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s share price rose 9.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $156.44 and last traded at $154.1660. Approximately 191,766 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,134,849 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WING has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Wingstop from $400.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Wingstop from $255.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial raised Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $240.00 in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $374.00 price objective on Wingstop and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.68.

Wingstop Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $162.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $183.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.82 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 15.77%.Wingstop’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.85%.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WING. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the third quarter worth about $375,317,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP grew its holdings in 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Wingstop by 48.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Wingstop by 160.6% during 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, Atreides Management LP acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth about $93,012,000.

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.