Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Earns Underweight Rating from Morgan Stanley

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reaffirmed by Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $14.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $22.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential downside of 1.20% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.71.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $14.17 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.39. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $13.98 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.