Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target to $19.00

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

WEN has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a sell rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $20.28.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $16.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.10. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $15.61 and a 52-week high of $22.42. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The firm had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.99%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $873,717.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at $537,927. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 1.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 17,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 5.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

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.