Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Down 6% on Analyst Downgrade

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) was down 6% on Monday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The stock traded as low as $169.70 and last traded at $167.32. 45,721 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 1,140,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.99.

Several other research firms have also commented on WING. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $230.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Wingstop from $330.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 265 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Wingstop by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake 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 valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter.

Wingstop Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $152.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.12.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 15.77%.The company had revenue of $183.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 29.85%.

About Wingstop

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.