The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Acquired by Western Pacific Wealth Management LP

Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 38.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,620 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in Wendy’s by 3,249.7% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,564,000 after buying an additional 1,521,527 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 296.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,503 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,678,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,938,000 after buying an additional 766,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 84,261.8% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 596,438 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,726,000 after acquiring an additional 595,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski bought 5,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 28,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WEN shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Wendy’s from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Wendy’s from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price target on Wendy’s in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.34.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN stock opened at $11.18 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $10.98 and a 12-month high of $20.60.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.11 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. Wendy’s’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

About Wendy’s

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.