Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $202.31 and last traded at $202.3840, with a volume of 301201 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $208.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WING. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $267.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wingstop presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.29.

Wingstop Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.82.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 25.01%.Wingstop’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Insider Activity at Wingstop

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Wingstop by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,111,089 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $503,475,000 after acquiring an additional 58,386 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,557,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $524,433,000 after purchasing an additional 294,786 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 3rd quarter worth about $375,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,405,894 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $335,292,000 after purchasing an additional 456,861 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,173,613 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $279,895,000 after purchasing an additional 70,224 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.