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

Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.63.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $11.00 price target on shares of Wendy's and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the purchase, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy's

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at about $824,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Wendy's by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 27,325 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy's Price Performance

WEN stock opened at $10.47 on Friday. Wendy's has a 1 year low of $10.33 and a 1 year high of $20.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.33.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. Wendy's's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. Wendy's's payout ratio is 59.57%.

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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