Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $17.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Wendy’s traded as low as $14.89 and last traded at $14.89, with a volume of 1772 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.94.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.04.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 76.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $115,562,000 after buying an additional 2,960,526 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in 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 worth $112,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,959,480 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Wendy’s by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,187,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,887,000 after purchasing an additional 37,801 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,446,000 after purchasing an additional 70,514 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 113.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,970 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.39 and a 200 day moving average of $17.49.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.