Piper Sandler Raises Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $23.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective hoisted by Piper Sandler from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WEN has been the topic of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $19.94 on Friday. Wendy’s has a one year low of $17.64 and a one year high of $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.01%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 112.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Wendy’s

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.