Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Earns “Hold” Rating from TD Cowen

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by equities researchers at TD Cowen in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 6.77% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WEN. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.58.

Wendy’s Price Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $20.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $17.64 and a 52 week high of $23.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 56.24% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Wendy’s by 112.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 203.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 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.