Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Raised to $21.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price increased by Wedbush from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ Q3 2024 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $19.94 on Friday. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $17.64 and a 52 week high of $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 203.2% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.