Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

WEN has been the topic of several other research reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.13.

Wendy's Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of WEN traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.59. 3,622,657 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,692,764. The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.66 and a 200 day moving average of $13.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.34. Wendy's has a 1-year low of $10.58 and a 1-year high of $20.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 85.36% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy's will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the acquisition, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy's

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in Wendy's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Wendy's by 1,111.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Wendy's by 7,180.9% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,422 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3,375 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy's by 91.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

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.