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

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target on Wendy's from $9 to $8 and kept a "neutral" rating, implying only about a 2.2% upside; multiple brokers have trimmed targets and MarketBeat's consensus rating is Reduce with a $10.14 consensus price target.
• Wendy's latest quarter beat EPS estimates ($0.24 vs. $0.20) but missed revenue expectations, and management set FY2025 guidance of $0.82–$0.89 EPS versus sell‑side forecasts near $0.99.
• The stock trades around $7.83 (one‑year low $7.60, high $16.20), has a market cap of about $1.49 billion and a P/E of 8.3, and institutional investors own roughly 86% of the shares.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Citigroup from $9.00 to $8.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Citigroup's price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.24% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Wendy's from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Wendy's from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Wendy's from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Wendy's from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $10.14.

Wendy's Stock Performance

WEN traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.83. 1,906,574 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,360,242. Wendy's has a 1-year low of $7.60 and a 1-year high of $16.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $8.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.89.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $442.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $535.75 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 125.74%. The business's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. Wendy's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.890 EPS. 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 hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Wendy's by 30.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $158,092,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205,269 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Wendy's by 61.3% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,041,012 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $57,568,000 after buying an additional 1,915,465 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Wendy's during the third quarter worth about $36,912,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the second quarter worth $18,929,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Wendy's by 65.7% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,479,870 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,556,000 after purchasing an additional 586,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Company Profile

The Wendy's Company NASDAQ: WEN operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company's menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy's has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy's expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.

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