Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for Wendy's Q2 Earnings

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2027 EPS estimates for Wendy's in a research note issued on Monday, June 30th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now anticipates that the restaurant operator will earn $0.30 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.31. The consensus estimate for Wendy's' current full-year earnings is $0.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Wendy's' FY2027 earnings at $1.06 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WEN. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Loop Capital lowered 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective 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, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.34.

Wendy's Price Performance

NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $11.64. 2,259,119 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,585,554. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.34. Wendy's has a 52 week low of $10.91 and a 52 week high of $20.60. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $11.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy's

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Wendy's by 84,261.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 596,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $8,726,000 after purchasing an additional 595,731 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,318,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $326,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,072 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy's by 168.1% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 76,235 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 47,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider owned 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

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.