The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seventeen have given a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.6364.

Several research analysts have weighed in on WEN shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Investors Research Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 19,693.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,167 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Wendy’s by 205.0% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,257 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 35.0% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $8.35 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $8.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.89. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $7.83 and a 1-year high of $17.20.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $442.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $535.75 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 125.74% and a net margin of 8.43%.The business’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 posted $0.25 EPS. Wendy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.890 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

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.