Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price Up 7.4% – Still a Buy?

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s share price traded up 7.4% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $115.10 and last traded at $114.7010. Approximately 470,812 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,185,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WING shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Wingstop from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Benchmark cut their target price on Wingstop from $285.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Wingstop to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.44.

Wingstop Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.01 and a 200-day moving average of $140.93.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The company had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WING. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $481,314,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its position in Wingstop by 20.0% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $260,115,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in Wingstop by 44.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 942,943 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $163,516,000 after purchasing an additional 290,501 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Wingstop by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 863,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $149,751,000 after acquiring an additional 16,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth $147,440,000.

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc is a restaurant company that specializes in made-to-order chicken wings and related menu items. Its offerings include classic and boneless wings prepared with a variety of signature flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches, tenders, seasoned fries, sides, dips and beverages. The company serves customers through dine-in, takeout, delivery and digital ordering channels.

Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, Wingstop has developed primarily as a franchised restaurant brand. The company supports its franchisees through brand marketing, restaurant development, operating systems, menu innovation and supply-chain coordination, while franchisees generally own and operate individual locations.