Brokerages Set The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) PT at $21.74

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.21.

WEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $17.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.76. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $22.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.31.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.56%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.01%.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $873,717.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $537,927. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 262.4% in the 4th quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 74,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 53,794 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,533,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,027,000. Finally, Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $372,000. 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.