Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price Down 2.1% - What's Next?

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 2.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $15.04 and last traded at $14.94. 270,657 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 3,948,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEN. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy's presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy's Trading Down 2.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.76.

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Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. On average, analysts expect that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Wendy's Company Profile

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.