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

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $20.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WEN. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays cut shares of Wendy’s from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN opened at $19.94 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $17.64 and a 52 week high of $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the third quarter worth $108,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 86,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 522.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 4,322 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 6,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the third quarter worth approximately $302,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.