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

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by Raymond James in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $330.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their prior price target of $375.00. Raymond James’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.66% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised Wingstop from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $385.00 to $389.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.32.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING stock opened at $303.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 88.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a 1 year low of $266.45 and a 1 year high of $433.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $300.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.30.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The company’s revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wingstop will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Wingstop by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in Wingstop by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted 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 buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 15.1% during 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.