Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Sector Perform” Rating for Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $17.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.71% from the stock’s previous close.

WEN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.34.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.2 %

WEN stock opened at $14.95 on Tuesday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.97. Wendy’s has a one year low of $13.72 and a one year high of $20.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Wendy’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.