Truist Financial Increases Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $22.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.90% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on WEN. Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $19.66 on Friday. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.72.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the second quarter worth $30,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 85.96% of the stock is 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.