Wendy's (WEN) Competitors

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA) and Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has more risk & volatility, PZZA or WEN?

Papa John's International has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wendy's has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PZZA or WEN a better dividend stock?

Papa John's International pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Wendy's pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Papa John's International pays out 81.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Wendy's pays out 58.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Papa John's International has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Wendy's is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor PZZA or WEN?

In the previous week, Wendy's had 21 more articles in the media than Papa John's International. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for Wendy's and 6 mentions for Papa John's International. Papa John's International's average media sentiment score of 0.62 beat Wendy's' score of 0.28 indicating that Papa John's International is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Papa John's International	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Wendy's	4 Very Positive mention(s)	11 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is PZZA or WEN more profitable?

Wendy's has a net margin of 8.63% compared to Papa John's International's net margin of 3.58%. Wendy's' return on equity of 103.07% beat Papa John's International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Papa John's International	3.58%	-14.42%	6.78%
Wendy's	8.63%	103.07%	3.94%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, PZZA or WEN?

Wendy's has higher revenue and earnings than Papa John's International. Wendy's is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Papa John's International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Papa John's International	$2.09B	0.72	$83.49M	$2.26	20.31
Wendy's	$2.23B	0.79	$194.36M	$0.96	9.65

Do analysts rate PZZA or WEN?

Papa John's International presently has a consensus price target of $50.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.96%. Wendy's has a consensus price target of $12.66, indicating a potential upside of 36.62%. Given Wendy's' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Wendy's is more favorable than Papa John's International.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Papa John's International	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Wendy's	4 Sell rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13

Do institutionals and insiders believe in PZZA or WEN?

86.0% of Wendy's shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Papa John's International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.0% of Wendy's shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Wendy's beats Papa John's International on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.