Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of Wendy’s Q4 Earnings

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Wendy’s in a report released on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.24 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.22. The consensus estimate for Wendy’s’ current full-year earnings is $0.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ Q1 2025 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.27 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.12 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WEN. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.36.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN stock opened at $18.12 on Monday. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $15.61 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,836 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,287,000 after buying an additional 115,875 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the third quarter worth $949,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the third quarter worth about $1,630,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s during the third quarter valued at $266,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.