The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) to Issue $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, June 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd.

Wendy’s has increased its dividend by an average of 51.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Wendy’s has a payout ratio of 90.1% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Research analysts expect Wendy’s to earn $1.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 90.9%.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $19.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.05. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.64 and a fifty-two week high of $23.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.84 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted 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. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.