Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.05 and last traded at $13.12, with a volume of 7196175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Up 5.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.49. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. On average, analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.62%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Trading of Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Wendy’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Wendy’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in Wendy’s by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 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 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.