Morgan Stanley Cuts Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $11.00

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $13.00 to $11.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.18% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wendy's from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.13.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of Wendy's stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $10.87. 730,544 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,656,301. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $11.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.51. Wendy's has a twelve month low of $10.84 and a twelve month high of $20.60. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.34.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Analysts forecast that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Wendy's

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the acquisition, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 203,005 shares in the company, 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. 17.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wendy's

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Wendy's by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,634,226 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $316,509,000 after purchasing an additional 536,071 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 2.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,638,169 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $154,998,000 after acquiring an additional 217,055 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 7.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,767,723 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $99,012,000 after acquiring an additional 464,444 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,033,560 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $65,747,000 after purchasing an additional 43,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Wendy's by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,081,000 after acquiring an additional 90,380 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 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.