Stephens Reaffirms “Equal Weight” Rating for Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by analysts at Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ target price points to a potential downside of 3.36% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.50 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $19.66 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.03 and its 200-day moving average is $17.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.80. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 378.0% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.