UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) had its target price increased by UBS Group from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WEN. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $14.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Wendy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.08.

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Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of WEN stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.53. 8,100,099 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,891,168. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $15.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. Wendy's has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. On average, analysts forecast that Wendy's will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Wendy's by 670.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Wendy's by 168.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.