Venturi Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,749 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $15.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.05.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.57%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WEN. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.73.

Wendy’s Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.