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Best Restaurant Stocks to Buy Now (2024)

Top restaurant stocks in 2024 ranked by overall Zen Score. See the best restaurant stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the restaurants industry.

According to Zen Score, the 3 best restaurant stocks to buy right now are:

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) is the top restaurant stock with a Zen Score of 55, which is 25 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 30. It passed 22 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Wingstop has seen its stock return 134.68% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 126 percentage points.

Wingstop has an average 1 year price target of $417.86, an upside of 15.3% from Wingstop's current stock price of $362.41.

Wingstop stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 14 analysts covering Wingstop, 35.71% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 14.29% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) is the second best restaurant stock with a Zen Score of 53, which is 23 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 30. It passed 18 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Chipotle Mexican Grill has seen its stock return 37.35% over the past year, overperforming other restaurant stocks by 28 percentage points.

Chipotle Mexican Grill has an average 1 year price target of $63.08, an upside of 17.5% from Chipotle Mexican Grill's current stock price of $53.68.

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 27 analysts covering Chipotle Mexican Grill, 44.44% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 22.22% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Yum China Holdings (NYSE:YUMC) is the third best restaurant stock with a Zen Score of 52, which is 22 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 30. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Yum China Holdings has seen its stock lose -35.57% over the past year, underperforming other restaurant stocks by -44 percentage points.

Yum China Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $37.40, an upside of 10.72% from Yum China Holdings's current stock price of $33.78.

Yum China Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Yum China Holdings, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 100% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 22 restaurant stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 restaurant stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) has an annual dividend yield of 11.12%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.22%. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% six times in the last 10 years. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's dividend payout ratio of 190.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Dine Brands Global (NYSE:DIN) has an annual dividend yield of 6.63%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.22%. Dine Brands Global's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Dine Brands Global's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Dine Brands Global's dividend payout ratio of 34.3% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Wendy's Co (NASDAQ:WEN) has an annual dividend yield of 5.89%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the restaurant industry average of 3.22%. Wendy's Co's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Wendy's Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Wendy's Co's dividend payout ratio of 102% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Restaurant stocks were down -1% in the last day, and down -3.08% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why restaurant stocks are down.

Based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score, the 3 most undervalued restaurant stocks right now are:

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) is the most undervalued restaurant stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a valuation score of 86, which is 58 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 28. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store's stock has dropped -50.17% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by -59 percentage points.

Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) is the second most undervalued restaurant stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Bloomin' Brands has a valuation score of 71, which is 43 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 28. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Bloomin' Brands's stock has dropped -37.7% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by -47 percentage points.

Good Times Restaurants (NASDAQ:GTIM) is the third most undervalued restaurant stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Good Times Restaurants has a valuation score of 57, which is 29 points higher than the restaurant industry average of 28. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Good Times Restaurants's stock has gained 3.97% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the restaurant industry by -5 percentage points.