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

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Citigroup from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WEN. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.60.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.94. 3,617,849 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,110,898. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.19. Wendy’s has a one year low of $17.64 and a one year high of $23.90.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 56.24% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $534.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction dated 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing 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 purchasing 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 purchasing 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.