The Wendy’s Company to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $0.27 Per Share, Wedbush Forecasts (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) – Equities researchers at Wedbush cut their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Wendy’s in a research note issued to investors on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush analyst N. Setyan now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.27 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.29. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $21.00 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’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $19.17 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $17.64 and a 52 week high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The company had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 112.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Wendy’s by 378.0% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.22%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.