Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $18.00 to $17.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.79% from the company’s current price.

WEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.04.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $14.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $14.89 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.48 and a 200-day moving average of $17.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 168.1% during the fourth 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. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.