Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,514 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.00% of Wendy’s worth $69,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,627,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,358 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $2,533,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wendy’s by 262.4% during the fourth quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 74,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,447,000 after buying an additional 53,794 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,027,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.50 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.24.

Wendy’s Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $17.69 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.67. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.01%.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.