Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Cut to $16.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.93.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $14.30 on Friday. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.55 and a 200-day moving average of $17.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. Equities research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.99%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 168.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.