Focus Partners Wealth Increases Holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 60.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,818 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 22,092 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Wendy's were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Wendy's by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 46.4% in 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. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Wendy's by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of Wendy's stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.44. 2,844,989 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,295,655. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.06. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The Wendy's Company has a fifty-two week low of $11.24 and a fifty-two week high of $20.60.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The company had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business'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 now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.34.

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.