UBS Group Cuts Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $17.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price cut by UBS Group from $20.00 to $17.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on WEN. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.14.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $15.18 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.50. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $15.03 and a 52 week high of $20.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 168.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 39.6% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the period. 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.