Wedbush Increases Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $20.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Wedbush from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.43% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WEN. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.53.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.29. 4,014,353 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,950,438. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $17.64 and a 52 week high of $23.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $540.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.47 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 56.24% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 203.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.