Wendy’s’ (WEN) “Sector Perform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $17.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.34.

Wendy’s Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.96. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its position in Wendy’s by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 14,253 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 2,564 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth $3,723,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth about $171,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $530,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 72,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

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.