Brokerages Set The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) PT at $9.00

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.00.

WEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $9.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at $2,428,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $18,929,000. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 71.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 634,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,810,000 after acquiring an additional 264,905 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,651,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 382.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 1,216,811 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,146,000 after acquiring an additional 964,771 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $6.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.59 and a 200 day moving average of $8.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.77, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.38. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $6.73 and a fifty-two week high of $15.07.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.88%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.