Piper Sandler Increases Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $23.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.22% from the stock’s previous close.

WEN has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.53.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.79. 769,688 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,075,186. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.19. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.04. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $17.64 and a 1-year high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.