The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.08.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WEN shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.88. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $13.72 and a 1-year high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.