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

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities 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 company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.36.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WEN. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen lifted 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. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $18.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.49 and its 200-day moving average is $17.68. 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 has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

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.