Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.81.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $15.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.77. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.06.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. Analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.56%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.