Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Cut to $19.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Stephens dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $20.28.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.1 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $16.70 on Friday. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $15.61 and a twelve month high of $22.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.76.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.01%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In related news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of Wendy’s 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 in the company, valued at $537,927. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 17,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 5.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.