Claro Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 22,501 The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,501 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 378.0% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 483.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.1 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $19.70 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 1-year low of $15.61 and a 1-year high of $20.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.15 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 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong 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 $20.22.

Wendy’s 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.