Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Raised to “Buy” at Benchmark

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) was upgraded by analysts at Benchmark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $340.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Benchmark’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.50% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on WING. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Wingstop from $353.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup upped 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. Raymond James raised shares of Wingstop from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $418.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.85.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING opened at $296.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of 86.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.71. Wingstop has a 52-week low of $196.54 and a 52-week high of $433.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $388.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $387.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Wingstop will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donnie Upshaw sold 3,199 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.71, for a total value of $1,192,299.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 97 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,152.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Wingstop in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 93 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 60.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 384.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter.

About Wingstop

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.