Written by StockNews.com

Wendy's Co. (Nasdaq: WEN) early Thursday [Feb 16, 2017 | 6:28am] posted mixed Q4 earnings results, but offered a strong outlook for 2017 and lifted both its dividend payout and its share repurchase plan.

The Dublin, OH-based fast food giant reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $0.08, which was $0.01 worse than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.09. Revenues fell 33.3% from last year to $309.9 million, but still beat analysts’ $307.98 million view.

Q4 same-restaurant sales rose 0.8% in the North America region, or 5.6% on a two-year basis. Same-restaurant sales, also known as comparable sales or simply “comps,” are an important measure of a restaurant chain’s health, since they measure only the year-over-year performance of stores open at least 12 months.

Wendy’s also noted that company-operated restaurant margin was 18.8% in the latest period, down from 19.2% in Q4 2015.

Looking ahead, WEN forecast full-year 2017 EPS of $0.45 to $0.47, which would meet or exceed Wall Street’s outlook of $0.45.

Additionally, Wendy’s board of directors authorized a 0.5 cents per share (+7.7%) increase to its quarterly dividend and announced a new $150 million share buyback program.

The company commented via press release:

“As we look to 2017 and beyond, we are poised for strong global growth,” Penegor said. “We believe we can grow the Wendy’s system by approximately 1,000 restaurants and $2 billion in sales by 2020, resulting in a global system of about 7,500 restaurants generating $12 billion in sales. Importantly, this growth will be achieved in a profitable manner for both the Company and franchisees, which will help carry the momentum beyond 2020.”

...Year-to-date, WEN has gained 6.07%, versus a 5.10% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

WEN currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #9 of 54 stocks in the Restaurants category.