Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, twenty-five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $277.6786.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $230.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Wingstop from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 959 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Wingstop by 17.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 265 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in Wingstop by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Wingstop by 54.3% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $151.00 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $159.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.82. Wingstop has a one year low of $116.35 and a one year high of $388.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wingstop will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.85%.

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.