Analysts Set The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target at $20.36

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.36.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 1.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.5% during the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 5.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $18.48 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.47 and a 200 day moving average of $17.71. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $15.61 and a 52 week high of $20.65. The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio 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.