Allianz Asset Management GmbH Makes New $552,000 Investment in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH invested approximately $552,000 in The Wendy's Company by purchasing 37,720 shares in the first quarter.
• Wendy's shares have a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with an average price target of $15.18 following recent downgrades by several brokerages.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a net margin of 8.57% and revenue of $523.47 million, which was below analysts' expectations.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 37,720 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $361,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy's by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Wendy's by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 200,375 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 36,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in Wendy's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief marketing officer directly owned 28,956 shares in the company, valued at $338,206.08. The trade was a 21.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of WEN traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.96. 6,920,693 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,537,664. The Wendy's Company has a 1 year low of $9.76 and a 1 year high of $20.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.97.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The company had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WEN. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.81.

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.