Wedbush Brokers Lower Earnings Estimates for Wingstop

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) – Stock analysts at Wedbush decreased 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 of $1.05 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.13. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $390.00 target price 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 recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Wingstop from $375.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $450.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Wingstop from $470.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $468.00 price objective on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.72.

Wingstop Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Wingstop stock opened at $306.02 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $293.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.48. The company has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 89.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a 52 week low of $266.45 and a 52 week high of $433.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wingstop

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WING. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Wingstop by 60.6% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the third quarter worth $245,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Wingstop by 384.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Wingstop by 104.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 49,908 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,766,000 after acquiring an additional 25,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Wingstop by 0.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 183,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,161,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In other news, SVP Raj Kapoor sold 266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.38, for a total value of $86,285.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 266 shares in the company, valued at $86,285.08. This trade represents a 50.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wingstop announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.