The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Receives $9.30 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have assigned a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEN. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Wendy’s from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Stephens reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Evercore set a $8.00 target price on Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,912,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,705,610 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $97,508,000 after buying an additional 3,227,366 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 258.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,224,648 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,191,000 after buying an additional 3,046,517 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 61.3% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,041,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $57,568,000 after buying an additional 1,915,465 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,929,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ WEN opened at $7.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.38. Wendy’s has a 12 month low of $6.73 and a 12 month high of $15.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.77.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $439.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.11 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 145.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. Wendy’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Wendy’s will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 65.88%.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company’s menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy’s has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy’s expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.