Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price Up 6.6% – Should You Buy?

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) shares were up 6.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $119.03 and last traded at $116.8370. Approximately 258,123 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,163,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Wingstop from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Wingstop from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Wingstop from $285.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.81.

Wingstop Stock Down 2.5%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $134.34 and a 200 day moving average of $162.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.79.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $185.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WING. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 959 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 1.1% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,672 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Wingstop by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in Wingstop by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 4,784 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.