Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $20.00 to $21.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.32% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday. Gordon Haskett cut Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WEN stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.94. 3,617,849 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,110,898. Wendy’s has a fifty-two week low of $17.64 and a fifty-two week high of $23.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.19. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.04.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 112.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its position in Wendy’s by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 17,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 5.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.