Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Given Underweight Rating at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reissued their underweight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $14.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $22.00.

WEN has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.71.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN stock opened at $14.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.42. Wendy’s has a one year low of $14.13 and a one year high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $115,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960,526 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,959,480 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,187,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,887,000 after acquiring an additional 37,801 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,446,000 after acquiring an additional 70,514 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake 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. 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.