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

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.79.

WEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $873,717.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at $537,927. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burney Co. grew its position in Wendy’s by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 62,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,078 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $119,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,079 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,321,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,571,000 after purchasing an additional 68,356 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Bank grew its position in Wendy’s by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 420,395 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,920,000 after purchasing an additional 136,982 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $16.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.80. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $16.22 and a 12-month high of $22.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The firm had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 101.01%.

About Wendy’s

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.