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

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.33% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley restated 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. 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.34.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WEN opened at $14.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.97. 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 has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 7.3% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,827 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $194,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 8,876 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 78.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 94,442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 41,586 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.