Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Cut to $9.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WEN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $9.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Wendy’s from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.39.

Wendy’s Trading Down 6.4%

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $7.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.77, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.76. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $6.73 and a fifty-two week high of $16.20. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.38.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 145.93%. The firm had revenue of $439.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Wendy’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 65.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 217,258 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 8,577 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,811,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,705,610 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $97,508,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227,366 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Wendy’s by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 77,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 11,980 shares during the period. Finally, Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $410,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Wendy’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wendy’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cheap valuation and rebound potential: several writeups argue WEN is deeply valued vs. peers and could rally if comps and margins stabilize — this is a constructive long‑term note for value investors. Wendy’s Stock Is Cheap, But Can the Turnaround Actually Work?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts still see upside: Truist trimmed its price target but maintained a Buy rating, indicating there are analysts who expect a recovery if execution improves. WEN price target lowered by Truist
• Positive Sentiment: Promotions and seasonal menu tie‑ins continue (Thin Mints Frosty), which help traffic and community engagement in the near term. The Iconic Duo Returns: Wendy’s Thin Mints Frosty Is Back
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves: RBC and BMO lowered price targets and shifted to more conservative ratings (sector/market perform), compressing near‑term sentiment even where some firms remain constructive on upside. Benzinga coverage of analyst target changes
• Negative Sentiment: Soft outlook and guidance: the company issued a weaker outlook and warned U.S. comps remain pressured, a primary catalyst for today’s selloff. Wendy’s Stock Sinks To Six-Year Low After Soft Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Large-scale closures announced (~300 U.S. locations): management plans to close hundreds of underperforming restaurants to refocus the footprint, which highlights weak U.S. performance and raises short‑term comps, execution and cash‑flow concerns. Wendy’s to close roughly 300 US locations
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment turned sharply negative: unusually heavy put buying and elevated short interest signal hedging/speculative bearish bets that can accelerate selling pressure. (Options flow reported intraday.)
• Negative Sentiment: Critical coverage and downgrades: multiple bearish takes and at least one downgrade argue Wendy’s is losing share in key categories, increasing the risk of further margin pressure and potential dividend/buyback cuts. Why Wendy’s Stock Tanked on Tuesday Wendy’s: Falling Sharply Behind In Fast Food Wars (Seeking Alpha)

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company’s menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy’s has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy’s expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.