Truist Financial Trims Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Target Price to $21.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price decreased by Truist Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on WEN. Wedbush boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.74.

Wendy’s Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of WEN stock opened at $16.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.38. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.76. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $22.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The company had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In related news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $873,717.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $537,927. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 6.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $397,469,000 after buying an additional 1,273,140 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Wendy’s by 2.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,344,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $100,683,000 after buying an additional 111,626 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,706,052 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $91,674,000 after buying an additional 31,341 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Wendy’s by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,141,024 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $80,668,000 after buying an additional 63,927 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Wendy’s by 2.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,321,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,571,000 after buying an additional 68,356 shares during the period. 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.