Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Cut to $16.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price lowered by analysts at Barclays from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 10.31% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.10.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $14.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,533,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,586,327. The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.61 and its 200 day moving average is $17.13. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. On average, research analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 168.1% during the 4th 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. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.