Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Given New $23.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $21.00 to $23.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.35% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.1 %

WEN stock opened at $19.94 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.04. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.64 and a fifty-two week high of $23.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% during the 3rd 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. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% during 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. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.