Buffalo Wild Wings Soaring on Analyst Confidence

Analysts were generally optimistic about Buffalo Wild Wings'

chances heading into 2016 after the company reported slacking sales in the fourth quarter. Bear analysts saw weakness in the restaurant industry as reason to be hesitant, but others see the wing slinger in a good position to capitalize on the new year. Analysts adjusted earnings expectations, looking for around $6.00 a share for 2016, dropping previous estimates that saw earnings closer to $7.00. Longbow analyst Alton Stump advocated investors "pull the plug" on B-Dubs after its weak quarter, downgrading the stock to Neutral and dropping the EPS estimate from $6.59 to $5.72 for fiscal year 2016. BMO analyst Andrew Strelzik was positive on the stock, offering an Outperform rating and price target of $190. Strelzik lowered the EPS estimate from $6.71 to $6.26. Oppenheimer analyst Bryan Bittner was "wild" on Buffalo Wild Wings, claiming that recent sales disappointments could potentially be "transitory." "We'd be aggressive buyers," he wrote. Bittner set a price target of $200 and dropped EPS from $6.67 to $6.23. Deutsche Bank was slightly pessimistic, with analyst Brett Levy setting a Hold rating, lowering the price target from $175 to $165 and trimming EPS from $6.25 to $6.00. He wrote that the company was "well-positioned" to compete in the restaurant space. Cowen analyst Andrew Charles thinks the stock will Perform with the market, lowered EPS from $6.45 to $6.20 and expects revenues of $2.12 billion. Charles sees "industry softness" as a potential reason for sluggish fourth-quarter sales. Stephens analyst William Slabaugh maintained an Overweight rating and price target of $190 while lowering the EPS from $6.50 to $6.10. He noted the firm sees "compelling value" in the company. Raymond James analyst Brian Vaccaro liked B-Dubs' chances, upgrading the stock to Outperform with a price target of $165. He dropped EPS from $6.75 to $6.20. Investors seemed pleased with the analyst confidence, pushing B-Dubs stocks up six percent to 152.10 at time of writing.