Wedbush Comments on Wingstop’s Q1 Earnings (NASDAQ:WING)

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) – Wedbush dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Wingstop in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 19th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $0.87 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.93. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Wingstop’s current full-year earnings is $4.18 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Wingstop’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.85 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.71 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.07 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.06 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.25 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.62 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Wingstop from $389.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Wingstop from $340.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Wingstop from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded Wingstop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.67.

Wingstop Trading Up 2.6 %

WING opened at $220.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.35, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $263.70 and its 200-day moving average is $319.30. Wingstop has a 1-year low of $205.60 and a 1-year high of $433.86.

Wingstop declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Wingstop’s payout ratio is presently 29.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WING. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Wingstop during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Wingstop by 521.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Wingstop by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 91 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Wingstop in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Wingstop by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period.

About Wingstop

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.