Short Interest in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Declines By 23.6%

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,080,000 shares, a decrease of 23.6% from the November 30th total of 13,200,000 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Wendy’s Price Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $16.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.25 and its 200-day moving average is $17.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.77. Wendy’s has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.65.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 16.9% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,461,000 after acquiring an additional 102,769 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at $763,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 175.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 68,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 43,475 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,854 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,437 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.