Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Increased to $18.75 by Analysts at Citigroup

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $18.00 to $18.75 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WEN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Loop Capital reiterated a buy rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $20.12.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $15.61 and a 1-year high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 102.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,728,745.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 378.0% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 483.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by 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.