Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $290.30, but opened at $371.00. Wingstop shares last traded at $369.31, with a volume of 822,067 shares changing hands.

The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $174.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.60 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 26.45% and a negative return on equity of 18.85%. Wingstop’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WING has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Wingstop from $320.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Westpark Capital raised shares of Wingstop to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 637 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were 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 $141,177.19. This trade represents a 55.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Skipworth sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.34, for a total transaction of $3,373,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,919,074.60. The trade was a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WING. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 93.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 128 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Wingstop by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 149 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period.

Wingstop Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.69, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $338.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.58.

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.