Loop Capital Has Lowered Expectations for Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Loop Capital from $21.00 to $16.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Wendy's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.63.

Wendy's Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,509,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,707,777. The company has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.34. Wendy's has a one year low of $10.33 and a one year high of $20.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $11.54 and its 200-day moving average is $13.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's payout ratio is 59.57%.

Insider Activity at Wendy's

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy's

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Wendy's by 5.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,577,359 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,707,000 after purchasing an additional 142,500 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the first quarter valued at $326,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 84,261.8% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 596,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,726,000 after buying an additional 595,731 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at $4,318,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 7.8% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 372,027 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,443,000 after buying an additional 26,761 shares in the last quarter. 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.