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

TD Cowen reiterated their hold rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their target price for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $19.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.80 and a 200-day moving average of $19.05. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $17.64 and a 1-year high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 243.3% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 255,069 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,806,000 after acquiring an additional 180,772 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 159.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the first quarter worth $379,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.