Truist Financial Cuts Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $19.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Truist Financial from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target suggests a potential upside of 30.36% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WEN. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush raised their target price on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.93.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.58. 2,830,248 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,624,969. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.13.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. As a group, research analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WEN. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $293,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in Wendy’s by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 77,805 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 27,805 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,821 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 6,480 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 100,284 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,033,560 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,747,000 after purchasing an additional 43,805 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is 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 offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.