UBS Group Lowers Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $17.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective reduced by UBS Group from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.53% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.14.

Wendy’s Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of WEN opened at $15.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.54. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $15.61 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Wendy’s by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,844,000 after buying an additional 3,959,480 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 76.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $115,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960,526 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 113.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $59,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,970 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Wendy’s by 619.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 866,878 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,711,000 after purchasing an additional 746,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,018,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.