Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Rating Increased to Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $377.00 price objective on the restaurant operator's stock, down from their previous price objective of $458.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WING. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $417.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $470.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Wingstop from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Wingstop from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.74.

Wingstop Stock Performance

WING traded up $8.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $339.98. The stock had a trading volume of 686,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,823. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.76, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.76. The company's 50-day moving average price is $381.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $385.89. Wingstop has a twelve month low of $204.01 and a twelve month high of $433.86.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $162.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.24 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wingstop will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Wingstop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.49%.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Wingstop by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 547 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 3.7% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in Wingstop by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 752 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Wingstop by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 93 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of Wingstop by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter.

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.