Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Raymond James

Raymond James reissued their outperform rating on shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $330.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price target of $375.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Northcoast Research raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BTIG Research upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $383.32.

Wingstop Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WING opened at $295.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.25, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a 52-week low of $266.45 and a 52-week high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.09). Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $162.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. Wingstop’s quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wingstop will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WING. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Wingstop by 5.0% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in Wingstop by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Wingstop by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,794,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Wingstop by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 15.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 313 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter.

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.