Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Barclays from $14.00 to $13.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Barclays's target price would suggest a potential upside of 2.25% from the stock's previous close.

WEN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.81.

Wendy's Stock Performance

WEN traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $12.71. 3,918,091 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,243,119. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. Wendy's has a 1-year low of $12.05 and a 1-year high of $20.60. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $14.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Wendy's's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy's

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Wendy's by 3,249.7% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,527 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 296.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,503 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,678,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,358,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Wendy's by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,938,000 after purchasing an additional 766,910 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.