The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives $20.36 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.14.

Several research analysts recently commented on WEN shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Wendy’s Trading Down 2.7 %

WEN stock opened at $15.39 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $15.12 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.54. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.50%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Wendy’s by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 21.2% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.