Wingstop’s (WING) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at TD Cowen

TD Cowen reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $160.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Wingstop from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $210.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Wingstop from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wingstop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.19.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $157.72 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.65. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.79. Wingstop has a 1 year low of $116.35 and a 1 year high of $381.45.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $183.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.82 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wingstop will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 197.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Wingstop by 75.7% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter.

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.