Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Bank of America from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.06% from the company’s previous close.

WEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Wendy’s from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.63.

Wendy’s Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $10.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.49. Wendy’s has a one year low of $10.33 and a one year high of $20.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.33.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In related news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the acquisition, the chief marketing officer directly owned 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $338,206.08. The trade was a 21.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,634,226 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $316,509,000 after acquiring an additional 536,071 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,638,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $154,998,000 after buying an additional 217,055 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 7.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,767,723 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $99,012,000 after buying an additional 464,444 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,033,560 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,747,000 after buying an additional 43,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,081,000 after purchasing an additional 90,380 shares during the last quarter. 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.