Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price Down 5.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) fell 5.3% during trading on Tuesday after Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. Sanford C. Bernstein now has a $155.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $220.00. Wingstop traded as low as $122.00 and last traded at $123.5280. Approximately 532,442 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 1,161,075 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.39.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler set a $173.00 price target on Wingstop in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $255.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WING. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in 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. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Wingstop by 197.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 121.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wingstop during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000.

Wingstop Trading Down 4.8%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $151.91 and a 200-day moving average of $186.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.The firm had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

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.