UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 0.6% during the third 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. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake 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 valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.