Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Price Down 2.1% - Should You Sell?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WEN. Argus upgraded Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, March 7th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Wendy's from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy's Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business's 50-day moving average price is $14.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

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

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Wendy's by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $112,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,959,480 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 3,249.7% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,527 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Wendy's by 296.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,690,000 after buying an additional 1,407,503 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,678,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth about $13,358,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

About Wendy's

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.