The Wendy’s Company (WEN) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 2nd

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd.

Wendy’s has raised its dividend by an average of 51.1% annually over the last three years. Wendy’s has a dividend payout ratio of 95.2% 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 $1.03 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 97.1%.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.36 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.79. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.36.

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.