Wendy's (WEN) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN) operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain renowned for its fresh, never-frozen beef patties, signature square-shaped burgers and Frosty dessert. The company’s core offerings include a range of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, sides and breakfast items, complemented by beverage options through both in-restaurant and digital channels. Wendy’s emphasizes menu innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and ingredients that reflect consumer tastes for higher-quality fast-food options.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy’s rapidly expanded through franchising and company-owned restaurants. The brand pioneered the use of square burger patties to distinguish its product and reinforce a commitment to fresh ingredients. In its early years, Wendy’s built a reputation for speed and service, later adding innovations such as drive-thru ordering, mobile app integration and loyalty rewards programs to enhance customer convenience.

Today, Wendy’s operates thousands of locations across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East through a largely franchise-driven model. The company focuses on strategic market development, leveraging partnerships with third-party delivery platforms and investing in digital technologies, kitchen efficiency and restaurant remodeling initiatives. Franchisees benefit from national marketing campaigns, operational support and ongoing menu research.

Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Todd Penegor, Wendy’s continues to pursue brand differentiation and international growth. The executive team prioritizes sustainability efforts, restaurant modernizations and community engagement, reflecting the company’s heritage of customer-focused service and quality standards established by its founder.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $11.18 to $11.45
• 50-Day Range: $11.11 to $12.55
• 52-Week Range: $10.91 to $20.60
• Volume: 6.89 million shs
• Average Volume: 4.65 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.17 billion
• P/E Ratio: 12.01
• Dividend Yield: 4.96%
• Price Target: $16.24
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Wendy's Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Wendy's scored higher than 100% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 1st out of 208 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Wendy's has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.33, and is based on 5 buy ratings, 12 hold ratings, and 2 sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Wendy's has been the subject of 11 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 13.13%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Wendy's are expected to grow by 13.13% in the coming year, from $0.99 to $1.12 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Wendy's is 12.01, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 25.67.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Wendy's is 12.01, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 29.66.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Wendy's has a PEG Ratio of 1.73. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Wendy's has a P/B Ratio of 8.89. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

10.25% of the float of Wendy's has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Wendy's has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Wendy's has recently decreased by 11.82%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

Wendy's is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 4.99%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Wendy's does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Wendy's is 59.57%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Wendy's will have a dividend payout ratio of 50.00% next year. This indicates that Wendy's will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.8 / 5
• Environmental Score: -2.19

Percentage of Shares Shorted

10.25% of the float of Wendy's has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Wendy's has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Wendy's has recently decreased by 11.82%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.05

News Sentiment

Wendy's has a news sentiment score of 0.05. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.68 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 35 news articles for Wendy's this week, compared to 26 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 12 people have searched for WEN on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -40% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 6 people have added Wendy's to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -40% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Wendy's insiders have sold 2,110.60% more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $79,284.00 in company stock and sold $1,752,651.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

17.00% of the stock of Wendy's is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

85.96% of the stock of Wendy's is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

WEN Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have WEN shares performed this year?

Wendy's' stock was trading at $16.30 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, WEN stock has decreased by 30.7% and is now trading at $11.29.

How were Wendy's' earnings last quarter?

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) announced its earnings results on Friday, May, 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The company's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Wendy's' major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of Wendy's include Gradient Investments LLC (0.44%), Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC (0.08%), Pallas Capital Advisors LLC (0.06%) and Cullen Investment Group LTD. (0.02%). Insiders that own company stock include Nelson Peltz, Matthew H Peltz, Abigail E Pringle, Matthew Coley O'brien, Liliana Esposito, Kenneth W Gilbert, Joseph A Levato, Lindsay J Radkoski and Juan Carlos Loredo.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Wendy's?

Shares of WEN stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Wendy's own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Wendy's investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Humana (HUM), Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/02/2025
• Record date for 6/16 Dividend: 6/02/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/16 Dividend: 6/02/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/16/2025
• Today: 7/10/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/30/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: RETAIL - RESTRNTS
• Sub-Industry: Restaurants
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:WEN
• CIK: 30697
• Web: www.wendys.com
• Phone: (614) 764-3100
• Fax: 678-514-5344
• Employees: 14,500
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Wendy's: $16.24
• High Price Target: $29.00
• Low Price Target: $13.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +43.8%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.33
• Research Coverage: 21 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $0.94
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 12.01
• Forward P/E Ratio: 11.40
• P/E Growth: 1.74
• Net Income: $194.36 million
• Net Margins: 8.57%
• Pretax Margin: 12.07%
• Return on Equity: 85.36%
• Return on Assets: 3.92%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 24.88
• Current Ratio: 1.49
• Quick Ratio: 1.47

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $2.25 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.97
• Cash Flow: $1.78 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 6.34
• Book Value: $1.27 per share
• Price / Book: 8.89

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 192,020,000
• Free Float: 159,381,000
• Market Cap: $2.17 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.34