Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.84, but opened at $11.75. Wendy's shares last traded at $11.48, with a volume of 6,022,806 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Wendy's from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.58.

Wendy's Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.24. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.34.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 85.36% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is 59.57%.

Insider Activity at Wendy's

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of Wendy's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the acquisition, the chief marketing officer owned 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the 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 directly owned 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy's

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 255.8% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 96,916 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 69,676 shares during the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel bought a new position in shares of Wendy's during the 2nd quarter worth about $172,000. PDS Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Wendy's during the 2nd quarter worth about $147,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Wendy's by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,641 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in Wendy's by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 99,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.