Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) PT Raised to $21.00 at UBS Group

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and decreased their target price for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a hold rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $19.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.05. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.64 and a fifty-two week high of $23.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The firm had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $372,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 193.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,083,000 after purchasing an additional 842,856 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 484.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 209,718 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 173,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 6.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,248,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $413,270,000 after buying an additional 1,162,540 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.