BMO Capital Markets Boosts Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $20.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target increased by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 1.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Stock Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $19.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.80. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.72.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 6.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $397,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,140 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $115,562,000 after buying an additional 2,960,526 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,446,000 after buying an additional 70,514 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,970 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,321,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,571,000 after acquiring an additional 68,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.