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

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.34.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEN. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Wendy's from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Wendy's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Wendy's Price Performance

NASDAQ:WEN traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.77. 2,788,381 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,293,881. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.72. Wendy's has a 1 year low of $10.98 and a 1 year high of $20.60. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Wendy's will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. Wendy's's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy's

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wendy's

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy's by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,102 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,507 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 17,963 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 7,831 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.