Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Raised to $17.00 at Barclays

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Barclays from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.14% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on WEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.26.

Wendy’s Price Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.11 and its 200 day moving average is $16.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.