Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives Neutral Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their neutral rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $20.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Wendy’s’ Q3 2025 earnings at $0.27 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.06 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Stock Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:WEN traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.66. 4,384,974 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,521,588. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.72. Wendy’s has a one year low of $15.61 and a one year high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,728,745.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Wendy’s by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $397,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,140 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 98.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 176,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after buying an additional 87,254 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth $17,094,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 159.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 36,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the first quarter worth $379,000. Hedge funds and other 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.