Wendy's' (WEN) "Equal Weight" Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $19.00 target price on the restaurant operator's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on WEN. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Wendy's from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Wendy's from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Wendy's from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy's has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.36.

Wendy's Price Performance

NASDAQ WEN traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.02. 2,650,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,524,459. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. Wendy's has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.65.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $560.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Wendy's will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy's's payout ratio is 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Wendy's by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Wendy's by 5.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,170 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Wendy's by 1.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,523 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

About Wendy's

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.