The Wendy’s Company (WEN) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 on March 17th

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd.

Wendy’s has increased its dividend payment by an average of 32.5% per year over the last three years. Wendy’s has a payout ratio of 89.3% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect Wendy’s to earn $1.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 89.3%.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $15.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.42.

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.