The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,590,000 shares, a drop of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 16,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 7.5% of the company's shares are sold short.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Wendy's from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $14.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Wendy's from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.08.
Read Our Latest Research Report on WEN
Wendy's Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,046,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,064,444. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.97 and a 200-day moving average of $16.74. Wendy's has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65.
Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wendy's will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Wendy's Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's payout ratio is presently 105.26%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy's
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 3.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 56,603 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Wendy's by 1,653.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 376,978 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,605,000 after purchasing an additional 355,480 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,659,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Wendy's by 2.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 555,980 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $9,741,000 after buying an additional 14,889 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.
About Wendy's
(
Get Free Report)
The Wendy's Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy's U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy's restaurants in the U.S.
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