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

Key Points

• The Wendy's Company has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 22 brokerages, with one strong buy, five buy, thirteen hold, and three sell recommendations.
• Wendy's reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $560.93 million, though down 1.7% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14, yielding 6.0%, with a dividend payout ratio of 58.33%.

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.6579.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.00 target price on Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 15th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy's

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy's by 2,695.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,412 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 60,179 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Wendy's by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 700,472 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,248,000 after purchasing an additional 117,324 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Wendy's by 168.1% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 76,235 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 47,795 shares in the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy's during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy's during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Wendy's stock opened at $9.41 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $9.99 and its 200-day moving average is $11.49. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Wendy's has a 12 month low of $9.01 and a 12 month high of $20.60.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $560.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.95 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 103.07% and a net margin of 8.63%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Wendy's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

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.

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