Analysts Set The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Target Price at $18.08

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.08.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. Truist Financial cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.26 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.83. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.