Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $17.00

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $18.00 to $17.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.79% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Wendy's from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Wendy's from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Wendy's from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Wendy's from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.04.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of WEN stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.94. The company had a trading volume of 5,812,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,799,945. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.50. Wendy's has a one year low of $14.89 and a one year high of $20.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy's

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Wendy's by 12.7% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 894,424 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $15,169,000 after purchasing an additional 100,456 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 1.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 7.8% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 135,270 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 9,790 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy's by 83.0% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 438,952 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,445,000 after acquiring an additional 199,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in Wendy's during the 2nd quarter worth about $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Company Profile

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.