Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Upgraded by Citigroup to Buy Rating

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $230.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 39.54% from the stock’s previous close.

WING has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $315.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.55.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WING opened at $164.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $223.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.21. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 2.03. Wingstop has a fifty-two week low of $142.24 and a fifty-two week high of $388.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 25.01%.The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Research analysts predict that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total value of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,465.59. This trade represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $141,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,750. This represents a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WING. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Wingstop in the first quarter valued at about $256,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Wingstop by 2,770.6% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 5.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 92,439 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,937 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Wingstop by 121.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 45.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter.

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.