The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.42.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $112,844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,480 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,303,279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $102,743,000 after buying an additional 458,106 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Wendy’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,187,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,887,000 after acquiring an additional 37,801 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Wendy’s by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,033,560 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,747,000 after acquiring an additional 43,805 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,081,000 after purchasing an additional 90,380 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.02. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $20.65.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.