The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Purchased by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 11.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,844 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $397,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,140 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 76.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $115,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960,526 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,446,000 after acquiring an additional 70,514 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 2.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,321,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,571,000 after acquiring an additional 68,356 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.36.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $18.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.66. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.50 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

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.