Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price Target Lowered at Citigroup

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target cut by analysts at Citigroup from $8.25 to $6.75 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.96% from the stock’s current price.

WEN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $5.50 target price on Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, August 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.52.

Wendy’s Stock Down 5.7%

WEN stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.20. 3,444,935 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,964,068. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.29 and its 200-day moving average is $7.34. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $5.94 and a 12 month high of $10.12. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $570.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $557.13 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 115.31% and a net margin of 5.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 630.5% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,245 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 217.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 77,879 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 53,384 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 45,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,182 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 74,030 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 28,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN) operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the Wendy’s brand. Its restaurants are known for hamburgers made with fresh, never-frozen beef, along with chicken sandwiches, salads, fries, breakfast items, desserts, and beverages.

Founded by Dave Thomas in 1969, Wendy’s has grown into an international restaurant chain with locations primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as select markets in other countries. The company’s restaurant system includes both company-operated and franchised locations.

In addition to its restaurant operations, Wendy’s supports customers through digital ordering, delivery, loyalty programs, and mobile applications.