Wedbush Issues Negative Outlook for Wingstop Earnings

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) – Investment analysts at Wedbush dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Wingstop in a report released on Friday, February 14th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $1.05 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.13. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Wingstop’s current full-year earnings is $3.64 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Wingstop’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.35 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.35 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WING. Northcoast Research raised shares of Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target (down previously from $375.00) on shares of Wingstop in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.72.

Wingstop Stock Performance

Shares of WING opened at $304.69 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $293.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $343.35. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a fifty-two week low of $266.45 and a fifty-two week high of $433.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Wingstop by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 53.8% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 0.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,794,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wingstop by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In related news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total transaction of $86,285.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wingstop declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wingstop Company Profile

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.