The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.71.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WEN. UBS Group cut their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WEN stock opened at $14.30 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.78. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $13.98 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.