The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.36.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Wendy’s Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.79 on Tuesday. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $15.61 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.71. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 483.2% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the first quarter worth about $44,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.