Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Sets New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $11.16 and last traded at $11.21, with a volume of 7114543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WEN. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wendy's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.34.

Wendy's Stock Up 2.3%

The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $12.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Wendy's's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 17.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy's

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Wendy's by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 6.1% during the 4th 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. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.