The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.14

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 2nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd.

Wendy's has increased its dividend by an average of 32.5% per year over the last three years. Wendy's has a dividend payout ratio of 51.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Wendy's to earn $1.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.0%.

Wendy's Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.75. 2,404,010 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,273,583. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. Wendy's has a 52 week low of $11.74 and a 52 week high of $20.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.76.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $530.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

About Wendy's

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.