Bank of America Lowers Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $11.00

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Bank of America's target price indicates a potential upside of 4.61% from the stock's current price.

WEN has been the topic of several other reports. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Wendy's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.63.

Wendy's Stock Performance

WEN stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.52. 434,364 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,685,648. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $11.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.39. Wendy's has a 1-year low of $10.32 and a 1-year high of $20.60.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The company's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief marketing officer directly owned 28,956 shares in the company, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wendy's

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Wendy's by 1,111.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Wendy's by 7,180.9% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,422 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wendy's

The Wendy's Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy's U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy's restaurants in the U.S.

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