Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Given New $17.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target decreased by UBS Group from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WEN. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.14.

Wendy’s Stock Down 2.7 %

WEN stock opened at $15.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.54. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $15.12 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.50%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,959,480 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $115,562,000 after buying an additional 2,960,526 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 113.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,214,000 after buying an additional 1,856,970 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 619.4% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 866,878 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,711,000 after acquiring an additional 746,376 shares during the period. Finally, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP bought a new position in Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $11,018,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.