Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Down 4.2% – What’s Next?

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)’s share price was down 4.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $7.96 and last traded at $7.9450. Approximately 4,486,719 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 6,260,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on WEN shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Wendy’s from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.86.

Wendy’s Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.24.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $442.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $535.75 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 103.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Wendy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.890 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,912,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $158,092,000 after buying an additional 3,205,269 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 61.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,041,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $57,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,915,465 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,929,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Wendy’s by 89.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,987,332 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $43,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411,912 shares during the last quarter. 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.