The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.5568.

WEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Wendy’s from $7.25 to $7.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $6.00 target price on Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Wendy’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Wendy’s by 8.4% in the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,987 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 91,885 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 29,908 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 40,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,449 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of WEN stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $7.55. The stock had a trading volume of 7,478,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,014,214. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $7.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.52. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $6.07 and a 1 year high of $12.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.25, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.79%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.