Wendy’s’ (WEN) Underweight Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reissued their underweight rating on shares of Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $14.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price target of $22.00.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WEN. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.71.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $14.22 on Tuesday. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $13.98 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. The business had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,507 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.