Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $13.72 and last traded at $13.91, with a volume of 1230096 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WEN. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.93.

Wendy’s Stock Down 3.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.11.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly 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. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. Equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 159.6% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $112,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,959,480 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 296.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,503 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $16,678,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $13,358,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,938,000 after acquiring an additional 766,910 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.