Federated Hermes Inc. Has $4.12 Million Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 211,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 7,183 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Wendy’s worth $4,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Wendy’s by 203.2% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wendy’s news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WEN. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Wendy’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.53.

Wendy’s Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $20.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $17.64 and a twelve month high of $23.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.00.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $540.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.47 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 56.24% and a net margin of 9.37%. Wendy’s’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.97%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.04%.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.