The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 157,477 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $6,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 9.1% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 8,876 shares during the period. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 12.6% during the third quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 245,595 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 27,558 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $194,000. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $187,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 72.0% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 66,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 27,989 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.02 on Wednesday. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $15.61 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEN. Citigroup increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

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.