Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $1.81 Million Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 13.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 95,909 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,231 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,627,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,248,412 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $413,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,540 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $20,574,000. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $4,297,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 484.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 209,718 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,280,000 after acquiring an additional 173,805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $16.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,338,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,391,258. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $16.02 and a 1 year high of $22.42.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 1 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 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 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 101.01%.

Insider Transactions at Wendy’s

In other Wendy’s news, CMO Juan Carlos Loredo sold 44,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $873,717.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $537,927. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.79.

Wendy’s 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.