Zacks Research Comments on Wendy’s’ Q4 Earnings (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Wendy’s in a report issued on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $0.24 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.22. The consensus estimate for Wendy’s’ current full-year earnings is $0.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ Q1 2025 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.25 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.27 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.12 EPS.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WEN stock opened at $18.05 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.51 and a 200 day moving average of $17.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08. Wendy’s has a 1-year low of $15.61 and a 1-year high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Wendy’s by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 5.6% during 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. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Wendy’s by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.