Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• Wendy's stock reached a new 52-week low, trading as low as $9.63, with several analysts adjusting their price targets downward in recent reports.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, representing a yield of 5.8% and a payout ratio of 58.33%.
• Despite the current challenges, Wendy's reported earnings of $0.29 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, although quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the previous year.

Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $9.63 and last traded at $9.67, with a volume of 5270018 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on WEN shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.00 target price on Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $12.00 price objective (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Wendy's from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wendy's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.97.

Wendy's Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.25 and a 200 day moving average of $11.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $560.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $558.95 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 103.07% and a net margin of 8.63%.The business's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Wendy's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy's

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Wendy's by 30.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $158,092,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205,269 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Wendy's by 61.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,041,012 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $57,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915,465 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wendy's during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,929,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Wendy's by 89.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,987,332 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $43,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 6,474.9% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,134,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $12,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,979 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.