The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 202.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,036 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 169,407 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Wendy’s worth $4,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased 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 Wendy’s during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Wendy’s by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.53 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $15.61 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.61. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25. The company had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WEN. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.36.

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.