Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $340.7778.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Wingstop from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Wingstop from $365.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total transaction of $69,931.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,373,421.51. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Wingstop by 1,650.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 134.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 104 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 54.3% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 4,200.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $252.38 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.38. Wingstop has a 52-week low of $204.00 and a 52-week high of $388.14. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.75.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

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

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.