Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WEN. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $15.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.94.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. Analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,827 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 8,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 78.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 94,442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 41,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 117,025 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 7,558 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.