Truist Financial Trims Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Target Price to $21.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target cut by Truist Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WEN has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $21.74.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $16.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.02. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $15.61 and a 1 year high of $22.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.35.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The firm had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.99%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 101.01%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $873,717.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at $537,927. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 262.4% during the fourth quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 74,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 53,794 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,533,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,027,000. Finally, Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.