Truist Financial Lowers Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $16.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target indicates a potential upside of 34.79% from the company’s previous close.

WEN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Wendy’s from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.53.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN opened at $11.87 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.76. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $11.75 and a 1 year high of $20.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business 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 company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 17.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at $763,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 168.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 152,549 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.