Melius Research Upgrades Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) to “Buy”

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) was upgraded by research analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $350.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. Melius Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 32.48% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $400.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, December 29th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $340.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Wingstop from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.00.

Wingstop Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $264.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.77. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $204.00 and a 12-month high of $388.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $254.44 and its 200-day moving average is $276.95.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $175.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total transaction of $69,931.93. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,373,421.51. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Yarbrough Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop in the fourth quarter valued at $1,451,000.

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.