Wendy’s stock up premarket after upbeat guidance, doubling of quarterly dividend

The Wendy’s Co. stock
WEN,
+5.97%
rose 2.4% in premarket trade Friday, after the fast-food company offered upbeat guidance for the fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend. The company said it now expects global same-store sales to climb 6.4% in the quarter, ahead of the 4.8% FactSet consensus. Revenue is expected to climb to $536.5 million from $473.2 million a year ago, also ahead of the $518.0 million FactSet consensus. “During the year, global same-restaurant sales reached double digits on a two-year basis for the second consecutive year, Company restaurant margins expanded by almost 300 basis points in the fourth quarter versus the first quarter, and we opened over 275 restaurants across the globe,” CEO Todd Penegor said in a statement. The company’s board has doubled its quarterly dividend to 25 cents a share, which will be payable March 15 to shareholders of record as of March 1. The board also approved a new $500 million share buyback program. The stock has fallen 7.7% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.40%
has fallen 14.5%.