Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Research Coverage Started at Mizuho

Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an underperform rating and a $8.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $12.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, September 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.45.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $8.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.77. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $8.55 and a 52-week high of $20.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 103.07% and a net margin of 8.63%.The business had revenue of $560.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $558.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Wendy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Investors Research Corp acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Wendy’s by 19,693.8% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,167 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,151 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Wendy’s by 205.0% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,257 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Wendy’s by 7,180.9% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,422 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 3,375 shares during 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.