SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 862.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,881 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,461,000 after buying an additional 102,769 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $357,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,358,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 109,747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 52,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on WEN shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.34.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $14.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. 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 Wendy’s Company has a one year low of $13.72 and a one year high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Wendy’s Company 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.