Raymond James Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING)

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Raymond James in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $330.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $375.00. Raymond James’ price target points to a potential upside of 8.66% from the company’s current price.

WING has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised Wingstop from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $385.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $458.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $470.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $383.32.

Wingstop Price Performance

Wingstop stock opened at $303.70 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.54, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a fifty-two week low of $266.45 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.05% and a negative return on equity of 22.69%. The business had revenue of $162.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Wingstop’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Wingstop will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of Wingstop stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,285.08. The trade was a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 5.0% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 547 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in Wingstop by 53.8% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,794,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Wingstop by 15.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 313 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter.

Wingstop Company Profile

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.