The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Wendy’s “Reduce” overall: Six of 21 analysts recommend selling, 13 advise holding and two recommend buying. The average 12-month price target is approximately $7.78, modestly above the $6.99 share price.
• Wendy’s exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.18 earnings per share versus the $0.16 consensus and revenue of $570.57 million versus $557.13 million expected. However, earnings declined from $0.29 per share in the year-ago quarter.
• The company’s quarterly dividend is $0.07 per share, equivalent to a 4.0% annualized yield, while institutional investors own approximately 85.96% of Wendy’s outstanding stock.

Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.7763.

Several equities analysts have commented on WEN shares. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Wendy's from $8.00 to $8.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $5.50 price target on Wendy's in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Wendy's Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of WEN opened at $6.99 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $7.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.90. Wendy's has a 1 year low of $6.07 and a 1 year high of $10.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Wendy's will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trian Fund Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the 2nd quarter valued at $252,583,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 26,314,724 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $218,149,000 after acquiring an additional 4,576,075 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Wendy's by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,493,752 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $31,232,000 after acquiring an additional 236,541 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the 1st quarter worth about $26,062,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Wendy's by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,280,217 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $18,903,000 after acquiring an additional 121,686 shares in 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 and franchises the Wendy's quick-service restaurant chain. Its restaurants serve hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, fries, breakfast items, baked goods, beverages and other menu offerings. The company also supports restaurant operations through digital ordering, delivery and loyalty programs.

Wendy's was founded by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. The brand is known for its square hamburgers, made-to-order preparation and “old-fashioned” positioning.

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