Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Price Target Lowered to $25.00 at Morgan Stanley

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, The Fly reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens upped their target price on Wendy’s from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 5th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Wendy’s from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $27.56.

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $20.89 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.30. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Wendy’s has a twelve month low of $20.36 and a twelve month high of $29.46.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $473.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $459.89 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 35.44% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 4th. This is a boost from Wendy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.18%.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $969,000. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 215.0% during the third quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.20% of the company’s stock.

About Wendy’s (Get Rating)

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

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