Wendy’s’ (WEN) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 17.28% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on WEN. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN stock opened at $12.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $12.05 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 168.1% during 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 period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.