Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Raised to $21.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.60.

Wendy’s Trading Down 3.9 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $19.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78. Wendy’s has a one year low of $17.64 and a one year high of $23.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.82 and a 200-day moving average of $19.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 101.01%.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 378.0% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Wendy’s by 203.2% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.