Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) PT Raised to $20.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective upped by Wedbush from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ Q2 2024 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.33 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.28 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WEN. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Wendy’s from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Truist Financial lowered 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. Barclays cut shares of Wendy’s from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Wendy’s from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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 target price of $22.53.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $20.07 on Friday. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $17.64 and a 1 year high of $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.02.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $540.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.47 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 112.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 203.2% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.