Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Given “Equal Weight” Rating at Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $14.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WEN has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.36.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $12.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.84. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $12.05 and a 12-month high of $20.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 1,111.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.