Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a buy rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $20.13.

Wendy’s Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of WEN opened at $16.83 on Monday. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 6.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $397,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,140 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $115,562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960,526 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,344,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $100,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,626 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Wendy’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,706,052 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $91,674,000 after purchasing an additional 31,341 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,141,024 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $80,668,000 after buying an additional 63,927 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.