The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Holdings Increased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,909 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,231 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 250.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $873,717.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $537,927. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $16.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,338,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,391,258. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $16.02 and a twelve month high of $22.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 62.68% and a net margin of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.01%.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.