The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.8636.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Wendy’s from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WEN. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 9.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 24,394 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 2,205 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the third quarter valued at about $223,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $101,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 169,311 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,545,000 after acquiring an additional 40,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 189.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 122,844 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 80,456 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $8.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $7.83 and a 52 week high of $18.71.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $442.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $535.75 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 103.07%. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Wendy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.890 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.