Brokerages Set The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) PT at $18.08

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.08.

WEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 168.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.97 and its 200 day moving average is $16.85.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.