Wendy’s’ (WEN) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by Stephens in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $20.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 0.30% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays cut Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $19.94 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $17.64 and a 1-year high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 17,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Wendy’s by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.