Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Cut to $11.00 by Analysts at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens has lower Wendy's price target from $13.00 to $11.00, with an "equal weight" rating and potential upside of 9.02% based on current stock price.
• The company reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.04, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.7%.
• CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased shares, increasing her stake by 21.12%, while institutional investors own 85.96% of Wendy's stock.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by Stephens from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Stephens' target price suggests a potential upside of 9.02% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price objective on Wendy's in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Wendy's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.18.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $10.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $11.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.82. Wendy's has a 52 week low of $9.74 and a 52 week high of $20.60.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. Wendy's had a return on equity of 103.07% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $560.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Wendy's

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,206.08. This trade represents a 21.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy's

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 348,245 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,977,000 after purchasing an additional 156,068 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 304,496 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,477,000 after purchasing an additional 87,721 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 63,577 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 366.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 252,040 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 198,040 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Wendy's in the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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