The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives $18.81 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.73.

WEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.32 and its 200 day moving average is $17.05.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.57%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.