Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price Up 9.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) traded up 9.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $156.44 and last traded at $154.1660. 191,766 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,134,849 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Wingstop from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial upgraded Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Truist Financial set a $374.00 price target on Wingstop and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Wingstop from $400.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Wingstop from $295.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.68.

Wingstop Stock Up 7.6%

The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $162.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.61.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $183.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.82 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 15.77%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 1,650.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 54.3% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wingstop by 197.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000.

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.