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

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $14.00 price target on the restaurant operator’s stock, down from their previous price target of $22.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 4.11% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on WEN. TD Cowen boosted 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. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.71.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $14.60 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.43. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $14.57 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wendy’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 21.2% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 949 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 46,945 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% 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.