JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $22.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a sell rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reissued a hold rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a buy rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $20.24.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $17.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.70. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $20.84.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.