Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) PT Raised to $23.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.35% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $19.94 on Friday. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.64 and a fifty-two week high of $23.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $372,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 193.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,083,000 after acquiring an additional 842,856 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Wendy’s by 484.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 209,718 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after buying an additional 173,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Wendy’s by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,248,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $413,270,000 after buying an additional 1,162,540 shares during 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.