Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $8.83, but opened at $9.80. Wendy’s shares last traded at $9.08, with a volume of 2,657,277 shares.

The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $442.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $535.75 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 103.07% and a net margin of 8.63%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Wendy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.890 EPS.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wendy’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup raised Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.40.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 30.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $158,092,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205,269 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 61.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,041,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $57,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915,465 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth $18,929,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 6,474.9% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,134,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,979 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.27 and its 200 day moving average is $10.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

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.