Wingstop’s (WING) Hold Rating Reiterated at TD Cowen

TD Cowen restated their hold rating on shares of Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. TD Cowen currently has a $285.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WING has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Wingstop in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Northcoast Research raised Wingstop from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Wingstop from $400.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Wingstop from $295.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Wingstop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.07.

Wingstop Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WING opened at $260.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.22, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $260.26 and a 200-day moving average of $267.33. Wingstop has a 52 week low of $204.00 and a 52 week high of $388.14.

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $175.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.74 million. Wingstop had a net margin of 25.01% and a negative return on equity of 16.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wingstop will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Wingstop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Wingstop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wingstop

In related news, Director Kilandigalu Madati sold 269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.97, for a total transaction of $69,931.93. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,421.51. The trade was a 4.85% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wingstop

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wingstop during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Wingstop by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,173,613 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $279,895,000 after buying an additional 70,224 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Wingstop by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Wingstop by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 959 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Wingstop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000.

Key Wingstop News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wingstop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and constructive guidance — Wingstop reported stronger-than-expected EPS and improved adjusted EBITDA margins, and management guided to low-single-digit domestic comps and ~15% global unit growth, which supports an earnings acceleration thesis. Investors Have WING. Do They Need a Prayer?
• Positive Sentiment: Unit growth & tech-led off-premise gains — Wingstop added ~20% more stores year-over-year and highlighted Smart Kitchen (AI order prioritization) and ~75% digital growth as levers to boost AUVs and operating leverage as comps recover. After Rare Sales Decline, Wingstop Targets AI Kitchens, Loyalty, and Marketing to Reignite Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns and institutional buying — Aggressive buybacks (reducing share count ~4–5% in Q4) plus a modest dividend and heavy institutional ownership / buying provide technical and capital-return support that can amplify rallies and prompt short-covering. Investors Have WING. Do They Need a Prayer?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst moves are mixed — Several firms reaffirm or raise targets (Stephens, BTIG) while others trimmed targets modestly (RBC, Barclays) but many still show sizable upside, producing divergent near-term sentiment despite broader bullish coverage. Analyst Ratings and Targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Street reaction shows caution — TD Cowen reiterated a Hold, reflecting a wait-and-see stance despite the beat; the market is sorting whether growth will be comp-led or unit-led. TD Cowen Reiterates Hold for Wingstop
• Negative Sentiment: Comp pressure and rising competition — Wingstop reported its first annual same-store sales decline in decades; analysts warn competition (the “fried chicken” arms race and other chains) and commoditization of customization could limit pricing power and premium multiples. Wingstop Reports First Same-Store Annual Sales Decline in 22 Years
• Negative Sentiment: Franchisee execution & capital allocation critique — Short reports and some sell-side commentary point to weaker franchisee performance, heavy reliance on new-unit openings for growth, and most FCF being returned to buybacks/dividends rather than reinvested in operations — risks to sustainable comp recovery. Losing Patience With Poor Franchisee Performance
• Negative Sentiment: Broader macro/traffic headwinds — Coverage notes winter storms and weaker traffic trends pressured Q4 comps; management actions (loyalty, marketing, AI kitchens) aim to offset but execution risk remains. How Wingstop plans to weather traffic slides and winter storms

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.