Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $15.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $17.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.37% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.53.

Wendy’s Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of WEN stock opened at $11.87 on Monday. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $11.75 and a 52-week high of $20.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wendy’s news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 17.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Wendy’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 5.5% during the first quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 27.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.