Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Raised to $22.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective upped by BMO Capital Markets from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WEN. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Wendy’s from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Wendy’s from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.1 %

WEN stock opened at $19.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.05. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.64 and a fifty-two week high of $23.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 102.04%.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 378.0% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.