The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.08.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.35 on Monday. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Wendy’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.