Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 782,621 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 64,895 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Wendy’s worth $12,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 670.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 168.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Up 0.7 %

WEN stock opened at $15.35 on Monday. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.88.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. As a group, analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.