Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $5.95 and last traded at $6.0080, with a volume of 795671 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WEN shares. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, August 10th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.82.

Wendy’s Stock Up 1.0%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.40.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $570.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $557.13 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 115.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This is a decrease from Wendy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.42%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Wendy’s by 62.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,030 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 28,508 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Wendy’s by 20.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,566,985 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,063 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Wendy’s by 130.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 86,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 49,124 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 48.8% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 291,578 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,417,000 after purchasing an additional 95,596 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 1,557.9% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,832 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 12,058 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Company Profile

Wendy’s Co (NASDAQ: WEN) operates and franchises the Wendy’s quick-service restaurant chain. Its menu primarily features hamburgers made with fresh, never-frozen beef, along with chicken sandwiches, nuggets, salads, french fries, breakfast items, beverages and the signature Frosty dessert.

Founded by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969, Wendy’s has grown into an international restaurant brand. The company serves customers through a network of company-operated and franchised restaurants, with a significant presence in the United States and additional locations in international markets.

In addition to restaurant sales, Wendy’s supports ordering through digital channels, including its mobile application and website, as well as delivery services.