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

Stephens reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $15.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on WEN. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $12.79 on Thursday. 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 has a 12-month low of $12.05 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $14.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.43.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.82%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Wendy’s

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.