Wendy's Impresses With Beefy Top-Line In Q1 - Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN)

Wendys CoWEN

's earnings

report on Wednesday helped boost shares to an all-time high of $16.12 and received a nod of approval from one of the Street's most notable restaurant analysts. Stephens' Will Slabaugh maintains an Overweight rating on Wendy's stock with a price target boosted from $16 to $18 as the company earned a reputation of consistently reporting strong earnings. Slabaugh highlighted the fast food chain's same-store North American sales growth of 1.6 percent in the quarter, which marks its 17th consecutive quarter of positive North American comps. The company's same-store sales metric also continues the fourth-quarter's acceleration on a two-year stack. As such, the analyst raised his full-year 2017 same-store sales growth estimate from positive 2.1 percent to positive 2.5 percent.

Where The Strength Comes From

Slabaugh went on to explain where Wendy's strength is coming from. The analyst noted the burger chain is seeing success in offering value to consumers with its four items special for $4. The company has also done a good job in marketing its brand around fresh beef, which helped drive awareness and re-trial of core items.

As such, the analyst continues to like Wendy's stock despite a 44 percent gain over the past year and the company should be viewed as an outperformer, as it is seeing success in selling both premium and value products.

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