The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Short Interest Update

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) saw a large decrease in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 3,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $16.50 on Monday. Wendy’s has a 1 year low of $15.61 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.77.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Wendy’s will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the second quarter worth $33,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 94.7% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Wendy’s during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.