Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 3,249.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,568,348 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 1,521,527 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.77% of Wendy's worth $25,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,318,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Wendy's during the 4th quarter valued at $13,358,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Wendy's during the 4th quarter valued at $1,921,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Wendy's from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy's presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.81.

Wendy's Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $12.52 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $13.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The Wendy's Company has a 52 week low of $12.05 and a 52 week high of $20.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The company 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%. Wendy's's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date 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.

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