Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Given Outperform Rating at Raymond James

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Raymond James in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $330.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price target of $375.00. Raymond James’ target price suggests a potential upside of 13.31% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Northcoast Research raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $383.32.

Wingstop Stock Down 0.4 %

WING traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $291.23. 155,219 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 543,741. The company’s 50-day moving average is $302.30 and its 200 day moving average is $350.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 85.08, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). Wingstop had a net margin of 17.05% and a negative return on equity of 22.69%. The company had revenue of $162.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wingstop will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,285.08. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in Wingstop by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 815 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 269,596 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,619,000 after purchasing an additional 39,086 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000.

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.