Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) had its target price cut by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.05% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WING. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Wingstop from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Wingstop from $305.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Wingstop from $160.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.75.

Wingstop Stock Down 8.0%

NASDAQ:WING opened at $119.95 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.36. Wingstop has a 52 week low of $95.82 and a 52 week high of $302.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.81.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The company had revenue of $185.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wingstop will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 2nd quarter valued at $481,314,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Wingstop by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $260,115,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 44.5% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 942,943 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $163,516,000 after acquiring an additional 290,501 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 2.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 863,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $149,751,000 after acquiring an additional 16,907 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Wingstop during the second quarter valued at $147,440,000.

About Wingstop

Wingstop Inc is a franchised restaurant company specializing in cooked-to-order chicken wings and related menu items. Its offerings include classic and boneless wings prepared with a range of flavors, along with chicken sandwiches, tenders, fries, seasoned fries, dips, sides and beverages. The company emphasizes made-to-order food, a digital ordering experience and a menu centered on customizable chicken meals.

Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, Wingstop has expanded from a single restaurant into a global brand operated primarily through franchised locations.