Wendy’s’ (WEN) Equal Weight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $20.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays downgraded shares of Wendy’s from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wedbush raised their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a hold rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $19.94 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.05. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $17.64 and a 12-month high of $23.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. Wendy’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $372,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% during 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 193.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,083,000 after buying an additional 842,856 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Wendy’s by 484.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 209,718 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after acquiring an additional 173,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,248,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $413,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162,540 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.