Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Increased to $21.00 by Analysts at Wedbush

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Wedbush from $20.00 to $21.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.32% from the company’s previous close. Wedbush also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ Q3 2024 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS.

WEN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.1 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $19.94 on Friday. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $17.64 and a 1 year high of $23.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Wendy’s

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.