Sound Income Strategies LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 84,261.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 596,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 595,731 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Wendy’s worth $8,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1,111.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 91.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $11.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $10.98 and a 52 week high of $20.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The company had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.01%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities cut their price target on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price target on Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.34.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief marketing officer now owns 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.