Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by TD Cowen

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities researchers at TD Cowen in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential downside of 4.71% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on WEN. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett lowered Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.1 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $19.94 on Friday. 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. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $17.64 and a 52 week high of $23.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $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.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.84 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trian Fund Management L.P. raised its position in Wendy’s by 60.9% in the third quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 33,350,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $680,689,000 after purchasing an additional 12,618,115 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Wendy’s by 6.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,248,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $413,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,540 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,344,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $100,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,626 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Wendy’s by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,706,052 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $91,674,000 after purchasing an additional 31,341 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Wendy’s by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,141,024 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $80,668,000 after purchasing an additional 63,927 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.