Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Earns “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $19.50 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $20.12.

Wendy’s Stock Up 2.5 %

WEN stock opened at $18.03 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.61. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.17. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.55%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 101.01%.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,728,745.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% during the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the second quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors 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.