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On Thursday, TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles adjusted the price target for Wingstop shares on (NASDAQ:WING), decreasing it to $305 from the previous target of $365. Despite the reduction, the firm maintained a Buy rating on the stock. The adjustment comes as Wingstop’s shares, currently trading at $251.01 with a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, have declined over 15% in the past week. According to InvestingPro data, 11 analysts have recently revised their earnings expectations downward. Charles noted that Wingstop’s management chose not to provide specific details on the expected quarterly same-store sales for 2025, which could potentially limit the stock’s performance in the short term.
In his analysis, Charles pointed out that Wingstop appears to be exhibiting greater sensitivity to the spending habits of lower-income consumers. However, he believes that new initiatives in customer relationship management (CRM) and improvements in service speed, along with existing successful strategies, will support continued traffic growth and help sustain mid-single-digit percentage same-store sales (SSS) growth into 2026 and beyond. The company’s strong fundamentals are reflected in its impressive 36% revenue growth over the last twelve months. Get deeper insights into Wingstop’s growth metrics and 15+ additional key indicators with InvestingPro.
TD Cowen revised its first-quarter and full-year 2025 adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) forecasts for Wingstop to $59.0 million and $244.0 million, respectively. These figures are down from previous estimates of $59.8 million and $248.0 million, and are slightly below the pre-release consensus estimates of $59.9 million and $247.9 million. Nonetheless, the new 2025 adjusted EBITDA estimate aligns with the company’s guidance for 15% growth.
The firm also adjusted its 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Wingstop to $3.66, down from the earlier projection of $4.18. This revision is more significant than the adjustment to EBITDA, due to factors including higher depreciation and amortization, increased interest expenses, and additional one-time system implementation costs that are not excluded from EPS. This new EPS estimate also falls below the pre-release consensus estimate of $4.32.
In other recent news, Wingstop’s financial results and future projections have prompted several analysts to adjust their price targets and ratings for the company. Wingstop reported a fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $0.96, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.87, though same-store sales growth fell short of expectations. Truist Securities cut its price target for Wingstop to $290, citing mixed fourth-quarter results and a cautious outlook for same-store sales in 2025. Meanwhile, Bernstein reduced its price target to $330, maintaining an Outperform rating, and noted Wingstop’s untapped market potential and increased advertising efforts.
Goldman Sachs also revised its price target to $330, highlighting a modest earnings beat but setting cautious expectations for 2025. BMO Capital Markets adjusted its target to $300, pointing to Wingstop’s earnings beat due to lower expenses and refranchising gains, though same-store sales and margins did not meet expectations. Lastly, Citi lowered its price target to $300, maintaining a Neutral rating, and expressed concerns over the company’s capital expenditure intensity and comparable sales growth. Despite these adjustments, analysts remain cautiously optimistic about Wingstop’s long-term growth potential, particularly with new technology and procedural improvements on the horizon.
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