Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Hits New 12-Month Low After Earnings Miss

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $266.00 and last traded at $271.81, with a volume of 749284 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $306.02.

The restaurant operator reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.01). Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%.

Wingstop announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WING. Morgan Stanley upgraded Wingstop from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $385.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $468.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Benchmark raised shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares in the company, valued at $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,206,062 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $342,763,000 after purchasing an additional 22,552 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,150,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,893,000 after buying an additional 262,229 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 861,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $358,571,000 after buying an additional 12,549 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Wingstop by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 816,991 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $326,020,000 after acquiring an additional 7,204 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Wingstop by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 801,732 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $227,852,000 after acquiring an additional 154,055 shares during the period.

Wingstop Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $293.06 and its 200 day moving average is $342.48. The firm has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.81.

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.