Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Given New $22.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.33% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of WEN stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,617,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,110,898. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $17.64 and a 12-month high of $23.90. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.84 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 56.24% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $372,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 193.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,958 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,083,000 after buying an additional 842,856 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 484.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 209,718 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after buying an additional 173,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,248,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $413,270,000 after buying an additional 1,162,540 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, 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.