The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WENGet Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%.

Wendy’s has increased its dividend by an average of 51.1% annually over the last three years. Wendy’s has a payout ratio of 94.3% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Research analysts expect Wendy’s to earn $1.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 95.2%.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $19.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WENGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at $256,728,745.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.50 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.22.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Wendy’s

About Wendy’s

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Dividend History for Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN)

Receive News & Ratings for Wendy's Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wendy's and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.