The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Free Report) was down 3.5% on Monday after Wedbush lowered their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $19.50. Wedbush currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Wendy’s traded as low as $17.02 and last traded at $17.03. Approximately 775,098 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 3,450,843 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.65.
WEN has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.03.
Insider Activity
In other news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $873,717.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $537,927. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Wendy’s
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $27,627,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $397,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,140 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $20,574,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at about $17,094,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 243.3% during the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 255,069 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,806,000 after acquiring an additional 180,772 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wendy’s Stock Down 2.4 %
The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.08 and its 200 day moving average is $18.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21.
Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.
Wendy’s Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.01%.
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.