Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $465,000 Stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,657 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,249 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter worth $99,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Dean Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 88,506 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 15,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of Wendy’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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $537,927. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $16.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.77. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $16.22 and a 52-week high of $22.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.98 and its 200 day moving average is $18.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.04.

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

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WEN shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.79.

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.