Zacks Research Has Bullish Estimate for Wendy’s Q4 Earnings

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) – Research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Wendy’s in a note issued to investors on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now anticipates that the restaurant operator will post earnings of $0.24 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast 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.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WEN. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Stock Down 0.4 %

WEN opened at $18.05 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.65. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $15.61 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $112,844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,480 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $115,562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960,526 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $59,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,970 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Wendy’s by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $397,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,140 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the second quarter worth about $17,094,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

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.