Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.98-1.02 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Wendy’s from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Gordon Haskett cut shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Wendy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their target price for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.53.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $19.62 on Thursday. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $17.64 and a 12-month high of $23.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 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 $540.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.