Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by equities researchers at Stephens in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $14.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 11.55% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WEN. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.36.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN opened at $12.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.87. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $12.05 and a 1 year high of $20.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 1,111.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.