Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Increased to $21.00 by Analysts at Wedbush

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price hoisted by Wedbush from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ Q3 2024 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.11 EPS.

WEN has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen restated a hold rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Wendy’s from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $19.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.80 and a 200-day moving average of $19.05. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $17.64 and a 52-week high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 102.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 243.3% in the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 255,069 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,806,000 after purchasing an additional 180,772 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Wendy’s by 159.2% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s in the 1st quarter worth about $379,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.