Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Given New $19.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.90% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WEN. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.50 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.28.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:WEN traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $16.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,135,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,543,216. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $15.61 and a 1-year high of $22.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The company had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at $537,927. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Wendy’s by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 17,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 5.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. 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.