Brokerages Set The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target at $18.81

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.73.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Wendy’s Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $3,723,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $171,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $530,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 628,013 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,237,000 after buying an additional 72,033 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth about $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.