Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Given "Equal Weight" Rating at Stephens

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reissued by analysts at Stephens in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $14.00 price target on the restaurant operator's stock. Stephens' price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.74% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.34.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of WEN stock opened at $11.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's 50-day moving average is $12.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. Wendy's has a 1 year low of $10.91 and a 1 year high of $20.60.

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

Insider Transactions at Wendy's

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief marketing officer now owns 28,956 shares in the company, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 now owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Wendy's during the 4th quarter worth $1,733,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,318,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Wendy's by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,072 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,522 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy's during the 1st quarter worth about $326,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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