The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Announces $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%.

Wendy's has raised its dividend by an average of 51.1% annually over the last three years. Wendy's has a payout ratio of 94.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect Wendy's to earn $1.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 95.2%.

Wendy's Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of WEN stock traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $19.11. 8,816,878 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,517,125. Wendy's has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.80. 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's 50-day moving average price is $17.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.71.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy's had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The business had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Wendy's will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEN. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Wendy's from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wendy's from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Wendy's from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.50 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wendy's presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.22.

Insider Activity at Wendy's

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.