The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Bought by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 619.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 866,878 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 746,376 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.42% of Wendy’s worth $14,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter worth about $461,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 8.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 382,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,481,000 after acquiring an additional 29,050 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 43,804 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 18,905 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 95,228 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 12,191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s 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 transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wendy’s Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WEN opened at $17.79 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.66. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on WEN shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.24.

Wendy’s Company 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.