Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $14.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $11.24 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.34. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $10.91 and a 12-month high of $20.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 85.36% and a net margin of 8.57%. Wendy’s’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.98%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wendy’s news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 3,249.7% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,564,000 after buying an additional 1,521,527 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 89.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,987,332 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,912 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 296.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,503 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the first quarter worth about $15,117,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $16,678,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.