Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $15.00 price objective on the restaurant operator's stock, down from their previous price objective of $17.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.52% from the company's current price.

WEN has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Wendy's stock opened at $12.55 on Monday. Wendy's has a fifty-two week low of $12.05 and a fifty-two week high of $20.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $14.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wendy's will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy's

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,303,279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $102,743,000 after acquiring an additional 458,106 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Wendy's by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,033,560 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $65,747,000 after purchasing an additional 43,805 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Wendy's by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,081,000 after buying an additional 90,380 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Wendy's by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,577,359 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,707,000 after acquiring an additional 142,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Wendy's by 296.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,503 shares during the period. 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.

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