The Wendy's Company to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NASDAQ:WEN)

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the restaurant operator on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd.

Wendy's has increased its dividend by an average of 32.5% per year over the last three years. Wendy's has a payout ratio of 89.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Research analysts expect Wendy's to earn $1.03 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 97.1%.

Wendy's Stock Up 3.5 %

Wendy's stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $14.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,955,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,728,635. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.77. Wendy's has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $15.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.09.

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Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy's will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Wendy's from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.93.

Wendy's Company Profile

The Wendy's Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid's meals.