Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) released its preliminary unaudited sales results for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended Dec 29, 2018.
The company’s fourth-quarter results were aided by increased gross openings that helped it achieve same-store sales growth. Notably, 2018 marked Wingstop’s15th consecutive year of comps growth. The company plans to continue with unit expansion in fiscal 2019, with greater focus on brand building.
Notably, shares of Wingstop have gained 68.5% over the past year, outperforming the industry’s rally of 6.3%.
Initial Glimpse of Q4 & Full-Year Results
The company reported that system-wide restaurant count moved up 10.5%, reflecting 51 gross openings and 37 net openings. Worldwide location count was 1,252 after the fiscal fourth quarter.
Domestic comps increased 6% while company-owned restaurant comps increased 4.6%. Meanwhile, system-wide sales increased 15.0% to approximately $328 million.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total sales in the fiscal fourth quarter is pegged at $40.2 million, suggesting 42% year-over-year growth.
Wingstop reported that it opened 119 restaurants in fiscal 2018, wherein domestic same store sales increased 6.5%. Meanwhile, company-owned restaurant comps increased 6.2% while system-wide sales increased 16% to roughly $1.3 billion.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Wingstop currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked stocks in the restaurant space are Darden (NYSE:DRI) , Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ:CBRL) and Noodles & Company (NASDAQ:NDLS) , each currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Darden, Cracker Barrel and Noodles & Company’s earnings for 2019 are expected to increase 18.1%, 1.2% and 266.7%, respectively.
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