AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 217,055 Shares of The Wendy's Company $WEN

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in The Wendy's Company, acquiring an additional 217,055 shares, bringing its total ownership to 10,638,169 shares, or about 5.54% of the company.
• The company reported Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, surpassing analyst estimates, and set FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS.
• Wendy's has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, which will yield approximately 5.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,638,169 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 217,055 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 5.54% of Wendy's worth $154,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wendy's by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,767,723 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $99,012,000 after acquiring an additional 464,444 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Wendy's by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,577,359 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,707,000 after acquiring an additional 142,500 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy's by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 200,375 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 36,954 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 1st quarter worth about $1,084,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 1st quarter worth about $326,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $10.02 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $10.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.37. The Wendy's Company has a 52-week low of $9.74 and a 52-week high of $20.60.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $560.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.95 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 103.07%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Wendy's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $12.00 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.97.

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.

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