Zacks Research Has Bearish Estimate for Wendy’s Q2 Earnings

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2027 earnings estimates for shares of Wendy’s in a report issued on Monday, June 30th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $0.30 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.31. The consensus estimate for Wendy’s’ current full-year earnings is $0.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ FY2027 earnings at $1.06 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WEN. Citigroup increased their target price on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.34.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $11.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.34. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $10.91 and a twelve month high of $20.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In related news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,634,226 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $316,509,000 after acquiring an additional 536,071 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,638,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $154,998,000 after purchasing an additional 217,055 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,767,723 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,012,000 after buying an additional 464,444 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,033,560 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,747,000 after buying an additional 43,805 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,081,000 after buying an additional 90,380 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.