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

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.22.

WEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,728,745.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

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

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $18.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.54 and its 200-day moving average is $17.65.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.01%.

About Wendy’s

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.