The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.24.

A number of analysts have commented on WEN shares. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN stock opened at $17.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. Wendy’s has a one year low of $15.61 and a one year high of $20.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.07 and its 200 day moving average is $17.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The firm had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.62%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.