UBS Group Boosts Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $21.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at UBS Group from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.32% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $19.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $17.64 and a 52 week high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The company had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.