Buffalo Wild Wings' stock got hammered Thursday, falling 17 percent after a poor earnings report.
Golden Valley-based Wild Wings released its third-quarter earnings after the market closed on Wednesday, and the results were well below investors' expectations.
Buffalo Wild Wings' earnings per share were $1, down 12 percent compared with a year ago and 29 cents short of analysts' average estimates. Quarterly sales grew 22 percent to $455 million, but analysts were expecting $465 million.
Buffalo Wild Wings also reduced its 2015 earnings growth goal from 13 percent to the single digits. It expects that growth rate to rebound to 20 percent in 2016.
Wild Wings "actually missed badly, and it was painful enough to lower '15 [earnings] targets," wrote Brian Bittner, a stock analyst at Oppenheimer. "Initial '16 guidance suggests a year of above-average growth, but investors' trust in management now must be regained."
Still, Bittner wrote that the stock's fall Thursday is a buying opportunity.
Wild Wings' stock tanked as soon as the market opened and closed at $152.45, down $31.95. The company's stock is often volatile, hitting its 52-week high of $205.83 on Sept. 23. Its 52-week low of $148.04 came a year ago.
Mike Hughlett • 612-673-7003
