Wendy’s’ (WEN) Equal Weight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $15.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.43.

Wendy’s Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $14.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.13. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.77.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its position in Wendy’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.