Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives Outperform Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $26.50 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on WEN. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $29.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $25.29.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WEN opened at $19.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.56, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.64. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $18.50 and a 1-year high of $23.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.28. The firm had revenue of $561.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $566.24 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.86% and a return on equity of 47.23%. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.11%.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 2,905,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total value of $58,983,050.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,827,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,889,297.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 20.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,395,661 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $444,218,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039,239 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 118.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,581,637 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $99,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487,477 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 370.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,879,282 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,711,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267,900 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $44,445,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 386.3% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,586,996 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% 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.