Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $368.94, but opened at $315.25. Wingstop shares last traded at $299.39, with a volume of 546,176 shares trading hands.

The restaurant operator reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $162.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. Wingstop had a negative return on equity of 22.69% and a net margin of 17.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Wingstop from $490.00 to $468.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Wingstop from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Benchmark raised Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Wingstop from $407.00 to $458.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.95.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other Wingstop news, SVP Donnie Upshaw sold 3,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.71, for a total transaction of $1,192,299.29. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 97 shares in the company, valued at $36,152.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Wingstop by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 7,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Wingstop in the 1st quarter worth approximately $370,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 36,938 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,534,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Wingstop during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,840,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1,308.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,142,000 after buying an additional 23,179 shares during the period.

Wingstop Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 83.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $392.16 and a 200 day moving average of $388.27.

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.