Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $17.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Wendy’s traded as low as $14.89 and last traded at $14.89, with a volume of 1772 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.94.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on WEN. UBS Group cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.04.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.8 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.49. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. 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.