Short Interest in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Drops By 23.6%

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,080,000 shares, a drop of 23.6% from the November 30th total of 13,200,000 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WEN. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen lifted 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, October 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $16.50 on Friday. 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 has a 52-week low of $15.61 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.55.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 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 business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Wendy’s by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Wendy’s by 6.5% during the third quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 1.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 21.2% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% 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.