TD Cowen Raises Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $19.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price lifted by TD Cowen from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WEN. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.50 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.22.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $19.70 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.49 and a 200 day moving average of $17.65. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The firm had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.