The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the twenty-two research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.9722.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WEN shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup upgraded Wendy's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of Wendy's stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $9.73. 1,845,225 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,972,365. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.45. Wendy's has a 1-year low of $9.73 and a 1-year high of $20.60. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $10.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.11.

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

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy's

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy's by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $158,092,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205,269 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 61.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,041,012 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $57,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915,465 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the 2nd quarter worth $18,929,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 89.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,987,332 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $43,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 6,474.9% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,134,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,953,000 after buying an additional 1,116,979 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% 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.