Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Down 8% – What’s Next?

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) shares dropped 8% on Monday . The company traded as low as $117.78 and last traded at $116.0240. 131,532 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,170,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WING shares. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wingstop from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $290.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Wingstop from $264.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.81.

Wingstop Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $146.16 and its 200 day moving average is $176.79. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.25 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 16.15%.Wingstop’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wingstop Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Wingstop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WING. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 32.4% during the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 68,489 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $10,614,000 after buying an additional 16,764 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in shares of Wingstop by 113.8% in the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 11,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 6,280 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Wingstop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,502,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 356,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,216,000 after purchasing an additional 51,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Wingstop by 813.7% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 84,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,106,000 after buying an additional 75,077 shares in the last quarter.

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.