BTIG Research Upgrades Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) to Buy

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BTIG Research currently has $370.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on WING. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wingstop from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Wingstop from $407.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Wingstop from $407.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.58.

Wingstop Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of WING stock opened at $296.94 on Thursday. Wingstop has a 1-year low of $196.54 and a 1-year high of $433.86. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.57, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $388.10 and a 200-day moving average of $387.26.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $162.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other news, SVP Donnie Upshaw sold 3,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 97 shares in the company, valued at $36,152.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 60.3% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 93 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 60.6% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Wingstop by 384.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period.

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.