Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $340.00 to $400.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Wingstop traded as high as $380.63 and last traded at $378.22, with a volume of 149767 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $369.90.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WING. Stephens assumed coverage on Wingstop in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Wingstop from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other news, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 10,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total value of $3,658,428.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,771,901.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Marisa Carona sold 2,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.96, for a total value of $961,888.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $612,246.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 10,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.40, for a total value of $3,658,428.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,771,901.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,901 shares of company stock valued at $5,120,605. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in Wingstop by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 11,380 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Wingstop by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 53.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 115 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 13,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period.

Wingstop Trading Up 3.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 162.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $353.29 and a 200-day moving average of $279.41.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The restaurant operator reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $127.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.47 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 15.25% and a negative return on equity of 17.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.45%.

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.