Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Raised to Strong-Buy at Argus

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

WEN has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.81.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $15.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.06. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the third quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.