The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Position Reduced by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,823,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 424,457 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.65% of Wendy’s worth $386,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Wendy’s by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 328.8% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 Monday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.79.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $16.94 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a one year low of $16.22 and a one year high of $22.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $873,717.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $537,927. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.