Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Down 2.1% – Time to Sell?

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) traded down 2.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $15.04 and last traded at $14.94. 270,657 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 3,948,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Down 3.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. Analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.