Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) shares are ticking higher in the early session today after the quick-service restaurant operator brought in Kirk Tanner as its new CEO. Additionally, the company reaffirmed its financial outlook.
Tanner is a food and beverage industry veteran who most recently served (NASDAQ:PEP) as the CEO of PepsiCo’s North American Beverages operations. The unit accounted for nearly 30% of PepsiCo’s overall business. Todd Penegor, the current CEO of Wendy’s, is departing in February after serving in various senior leadership roles at Wendy’s for over a decade.
Further, Wendy’s has reaffirmed its financial outlook for Fiscal Year 2023. The company is slated to report its fourth-quarter results on February 15. Analysts expect Wendy’s to post an EPS of $0.23 on revenue of $547.6 million for the quarter.
Despite steadily improving top-line and bottom-line figures over the past few years, Wendy’s shares have declined by over 14% in the past year. In addition, the stock has generated modest price gains of around 17% over the last five years. At such a juncture, the new CEO comes in at a time when Wendy’s stock has been hit by multiple ratings downgrades this month.
Is WEN a Good Investment?
Overall, the Street has a Hold consensus rating on Wendy’s, and the average WEN price target of $21.62 points to a modest 12.25% potential upside in the stock.
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