TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) Stock Price

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) had its price target cut by stock analysts at TD Cowen from $285.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.40% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Melius Research set a $350.00 price target on shares of Wingstop in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $330.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Wingstop from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wingstop currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.76.

Wingstop Price Performance

Shares of WING opened at $166.04 on Wednesday. Wingstop has a 1-year low of $142.24 and a 1-year high of $388.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 2.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $221.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.59.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.16. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. Wingstop’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Wingstop

In other news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.73, for a total value of $703,971.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $673,465.59. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $141,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,750. The trade was a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WING. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 1,650.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 138 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 197.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 54.3% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 75.7% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period.

Trending Headlines about Wingstop

Here are the key news stories impacting Wingstop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi upgraded WING from Neutral to Buy with a $230 price target, calling a second?half recovery in sales and viewing the pullback as a buying opportunity. Citi Research Sees Buying Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded Wingstop to Strong Buy (from Outperform) and set a $240 target, signaling analysts see the recent drop as excessive and expecting a recovery. InsiderMonkey: Wingstop the Best Oversold Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Marketing lift: Wingstop launched a limited?time Citrus Mojo flavor and is tied to Coca?Cola’s new Sprite Loco Lime co?promotion — activations that can boost traffic and incremental sales during the campaign. Coca?Cola & Wingstop Collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating but cut its price target to $265 from $345 — the firm still sees upside versus current levels, but its reduced PT signals tempered near?term expectations. Morgan Stanley Lowers Wingstop Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary broadly frames the stock as oversold after a roughly 30–44% decline from prior highs; several outlets present the drop as a buying opportunity rather than evidence of fundamental deterioration. Blockonomi: Wall Street Sees Opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: Across coverage some price targets were materially reduced from earlier levels (examples above), which limits the near?term upside consensus despite buy/overweight ratings—investors should note lowered analyst ceilings. MSN: Why Analyst Upgraded Wingstop

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ: WING) is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and related menu items. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, the company has built its brand around bold, chef-inspired wing flavors and a streamlined service model that caters to dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering orders.

The company’s core offerings include both bone-in and boneless chicken wings tossed in a variety of proprietary rubs and sauces, such as Original Hot, Lemon Pepper, and Mango Habanero.