Wolfe Research Begins Coverage on Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING)

Stock analysts at Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 39.63% from the company’s current price.

WING has been the topic of several other reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $337.29.

Wingstop Stock Down 3.0%

WING opened at $229.17 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.08, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.82. Wingstop has a 12-month low of $204.00 and a 12-month high of $388.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $259.37 and a 200-day moving average of $260.37.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly 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. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 25.01%.The business had revenue of $175.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Wingstop will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $141,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total transaction of $703,971.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,465.59. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 123.9% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 102,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,861,000 after acquiring an additional 56,833 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 17.1% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 57,586 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,493,000 after purchasing an additional 8,414 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 17.3% in the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 741,097 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $249,557,000 after purchasing an additional 109,108 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Wingstop by 287.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Wingstop by 61.2% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,825 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 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.