Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Earns Underweight Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reaffirmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price target of $7.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 17.81% from the stock’s previous close.

WEN has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $8.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Evercore set a $8.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.42.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN opened at $7.30 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.25, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.35. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $6.37 and a twelve month high of $12.52.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $432.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $518.03 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 136.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. Wendy’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 30.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $158,092,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205,269 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Wendy’s by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,091,847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $59,075,000 after purchasing an additional 227,023 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Wendy’s by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,549,066 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,554,000 after purchasing an additional 357,814 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Wendy’s by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,446,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $45,368,000 after purchasing an additional 102,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Wendy’s by 258.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,224,648 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,191,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046,517 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company’s menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy’s has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy’s expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.