Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) PT Set at $11.00 by Morgan Stanley

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) has been given a $11.00 price target by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.66% from the company’s previous close.

WEN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim lowered Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Wendy’s from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.13.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $10.51 on Monday. 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 has a 1 year low of $10.50 and a 1 year high of $20.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.45.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 85.36% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 5.5% during the first quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 27.4% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 13,618 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.