Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Now Covered by Analysts at Melius

Stock analysts at Melius started coverage on shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $350.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Melius’ price target points to a potential upside of 10.18% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 price objective (up previously from $360.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $360.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Wingstop from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wingstop currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.40.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WING opened at $317.66 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.07. Wingstop has a 52 week low of $204.00 and a 52 week high of $433.86. The company has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 53.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.84.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.15. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 18.85% and a net margin of 26.45%. The company had revenue of $171.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Wingstop will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 637 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.07, for a total value of $173,945.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,177.19. This represents a 55.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.34, for a total value of $3,373,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 47,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,919,074.60. This trade represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Wingstop by 521.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 93.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Wingstop by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Wingstop by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 141 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates restaurants under the Wingstop brand. Its restaurants offer classic wings, boneless wings, tenders, and hand-sauced-and-tossed in various flavors, as well as chicken sandwiches with fries and hand-cut carrots and celery that are cooked-to-order.