The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Holdings Cut by Crestline Management LP

Crestline Management LP decreased its position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 53.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,631 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 21,557 shares during the quarter. Crestline Management LP's holdings in Wendy's were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Wendy's in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Wendy's by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEN. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.34.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.93. 5,010,378 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,271,736. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The Wendy's Company has a 12 month low of $11.70 and a 12 month high of $20.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.59 and a 200-day moving average of $15.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's payout ratio is 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy's

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 17.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wendy's Company 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.