Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for The Wendy’s Company’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) – Investment analysts at Wedbush reduced their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Wendy’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $0.27 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.28. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Wendy’s’ current full-year earnings is $0.99 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ Q1 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.33 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.28 EPS.

WEN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.53.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $19.99 on Monday. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.64 and a fifty-two week high of $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.65 and a 200 day moving average of $19.02.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $540.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.47 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 112.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 203.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.