TD Cowen Reaffirms Hold Rating for Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING)

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities research analysts at TD Cowen in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $120.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 13.40% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Wingstop from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson set a $180.00 target price on Wingstop in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Wingstop from $238.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wingstop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on Wingstop from $285.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.68.

Wingstop Trading Up 12.2%

NASDAQ:WING opened at $138.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.81. Wingstop has a 1 year low of $95.82 and a 1 year high of $302.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $113.87 and a 200-day moving average of $165.89.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.06. Wingstop had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 16.31%. The company had revenue of $185.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $192.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. Wingstop’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Wingstop

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Wingstop in the second quarter valued at approximately $481,314,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Wingstop by 20.0% in the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $260,115,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 44.5% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 942,943 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $163,516,000 after acquiring an additional 290,501 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Wingstop by 2.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 863,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $149,751,000 after acquiring an additional 16,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wingstop during the second quarter worth $147,440,000.

Wingstop News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Wingstop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wingstop reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share, above the $1.02 analyst consensus. Net income rose 2.2% year over year to $29.1 million, supporting investor confidence in profitability despite a challenging sales environment. Wingstop Surpasses Q3 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Systemwide sales increased 6.0% to approximately $1.4 billion, while Wingstop opened 76 net new restaurants and ended the quarter with 3,331 locations. Continued unit growth provides a longer-term expansion opportunity. Wingstop Fiscal Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management is refreshing marketing and restaurant operations, while Club Wingstop members showed stronger repeat engagement. The company also declared a $0.33 quarterly dividend and repurchased shares, offering additional shareholder support.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wingstop plans to enter India by early 2027 and believes the market could support as many as 1,000 restaurants. The opportunity could diversify growth, but it will require substantial execution and investment. Wingstop India Expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Domestic same-store sales fell 5.4% during the quarter, and Wingstop now expects a 6.5% to 7.0% decline for full-year 2026. Revenue of $185.1 million also missed the $192.9 million consensus estimate, underscoring continued pressure on U.S. demand. Wingstop 2026 Sales Forecast

Wingstop Company Profile

Wingstop Inc is a franchised restaurant company specializing in cooked-to-order chicken wings and related menu items. Its offerings include classic and boneless wings prepared with a range of flavors, along with chicken sandwiches, tenders, fries, seasoned fries, dips, sides and beverages. The company emphasizes made-to-order food, a digital ordering experience and a menu centered on customizable chicken meals.

Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, Wingstop has expanded from a single restaurant into a global brand operated primarily through franchised locations.