Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $17.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Wendy’s traded as low as $14.89 and last traded at $14.89, with a volume of 1772 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.94.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WEN. Citigroup increased their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.04.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.49. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.66%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

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.