Citigroup Cuts Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $18.50

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Citigroup from $23.00 to $18.50 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, The Fly reports. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.12% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WEN. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $28.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, April 18th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Wendy’s from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.08.

Shares of WEN stock opened at $16.07 on Thursday. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $15.77 and a 1 year high of $29.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 11th. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a return on equity of 35.44% and a net margin of 10.56%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 27.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,061,354 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $239,811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,793,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,016,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 112.2% during the third quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,172,909 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $22,589,000. Institutional investors own 69.97% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile (Get Rating)

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company. It operates through three segments: Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.

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