Wendy’s price target lowered to $18 from $19 at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI analyst David Palmer lowered the firm’s price target on Wendy’s (WEN) to $18 from $19 and keeps an In Line rating on the shares. Lower-income consumer trends and COVID-era pricing is weighing on traditional fast food trends, argues the analyst in a Q4 restaurant preview note titled “Bifurcation is real.” The firm’s sense is that fast food chain same-store sales can begin to stabilize in Q2, but it adds that “much of the battle for fast food consumers continues to feel like a zero-sum game today.”