Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Loop Capital

Loop Capital reiterated their buy rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $26.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a sell rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.11.

Wendy’s Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.24 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.31. Wendy’s has a one year low of $15.61 and a one year 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. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.76.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $873,717.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $537,927. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $397,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,140 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 worth $100,683,000 after buying an additional 111,626 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 worth $91,674,000 after buying an additional 31,341 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 worth $80,668,000 after buying an additional 63,927 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased 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 worth $62,571,000 after buying an additional 68,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.