The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) to Issue $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, June 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd.

Wendy’s has increased its dividend payment by an average of 51.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Wendy’s has a payout ratio of 90.1% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Wendy’s to earn $1.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 90.9%.

Wendy’s Price Performance

NASDAQ:WEN traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,617,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,110,898. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.18. Wendy’s has a one year low of $17.64 and a one year high of $23.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WEN. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Wendy’s

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.