What is Zacks Research's Forecast for Wendy's Q1 Earnings?

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Wendy's in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 1st. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now expects that the restaurant operator will post earnings per share of $0.26 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.28. The consensus estimate for Wendy's' current full-year earnings is $0.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Wendy's' Q1 2027 earnings at $0.28 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $1.19 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.08.

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Wendy's Stock Down 5.5 %

WEN stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $13.30. The stock had a trading volume of 6,413,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,111,681. Wendy's has a 1-year low of $13.22 and a 1-year high of $20.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.97 and a 200 day moving average of $16.65. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy's

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 16.9% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $12,461,000 after buying an additional 102,769 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the fourth quarter worth $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at about $357,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,358,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Wendy's by 90.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 109,747 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 52,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.52%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

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.