Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price Target Raised at Stephens

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price target lifted by Stephens from $7.00 to $8.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on WEN. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $8.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Argus cut Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $7.56.

Wendy’s Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.15. The stock had a trading volume of 10,028,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,081,420. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.36. Wendy’s has a 52 week low of $5.94 and a 52 week high of $10.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $435.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.28 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 115.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trian Fund Management L.P. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at $252,583,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 26,314,724 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $218,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,576,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,566,985 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $54,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,063 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,493,752 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,232,000 after purchasing an additional 236,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 1st quarter worth about $26,062,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Wendy’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Wendy’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wendy’s reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share, above analysts’ estimates, and launched its multi-year “Dave’s Way” plan to improve traffic, market share and restaurant profitability. Quarterly results and strategy
• Positive Sentiment: The company is refreshing its menu for 2027 and tailoring breakfast offerings by location after tests found that scaling back breakfast in some locations improved profitability. These moves could help the turnaround if they attract customers and lift margins. Menu refresh
• Positive Sentiment: Wendy’s is considering acquiring as many as 163 Meritage Hospitality Group restaurants, which could give it more control over locations and support its franchise portfolio strategy, though the deal is not final. Potential restaurant acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup and Stephens raised their price targets to $8, while keeping neutral and equal-weight ratings, respectively. Both targets are slightly below the cited share price, suggesting limited near-term upside in their views.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, quarterly earnings were below the year-ago level and revenue declined year over year, underscoring the traffic and sales challenges the turnaround must address.
• Negative Sentiment: The board rejected Trian’s $7.35-per-share buyout proposal as undervaluing Wendy’s and adopted a limited-duration “poison pill.” The offer was below the cited recent share price, but blocking it leaves investors reliant on management’s turnaround and may prolong activist-related uncertainty. Buyout proposal rejection

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN) operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the Wendy’s brand. Its restaurants are known for hamburgers made with fresh, never-frozen beef, along with chicken sandwiches, salads, fries, breakfast items, desserts, and beverages.

Founded by Dave Thomas in 1969, Wendy’s has grown into an international restaurant chain with locations primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as select markets in other countries. The company’s restaurant system includes both company-operated and franchised locations.

In addition to its restaurant operations, Wendy’s supports customers through digital ordering, delivery, loyalty programs, and mobile applications.