Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WING. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Wingstop from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.89.

Wingstop Price Performance

NASDAQ WING opened at $174.53 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.79. Wingstop has a 12 month low of $116.35 and a 12 month high of $381.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $151.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.58.

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

Wingstop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is 29.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the 3rd quarter worth $375,317,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 296.2% in the 3rd quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 950,521 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $239,227,000 after purchasing an additional 710,621 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 worth $335,292,000 after purchasing an additional 456,861 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Wingstop by 160.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 740,896 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $186,469,000 after purchasing an additional 456,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atreides Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth about $93,012,000.

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.