LPL Financial LLC Raises Stock Position in The Wendy's Company $WEN

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in The Wendy's Company by 28.9%, owning approximately 149,925 shares valued at $2.19 million after acquiring an additional 33,622 shares.
• Several analysts lowered their price targets for Wendy's stock, with Barclays setting a new target of $13.00 and Bank of America reducing it to $11.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $13.76.
• Wendy's reported Q2 earnings of $0.29 per share, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14, yielding 5.3%, with a payout ratio of 58.33%.

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 28.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,925 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 33,622 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Wendy's worth $2,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Wendy's by 1,111.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Wendy's by 91.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 27.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 22.0% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,223 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WEN shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. 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 reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Wendy's from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.76.

Wendy's Price Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $10.58 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $10.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.45. The Wendy's Company has a one year low of $9.74 and a one year high of $20.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.31.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 103.07%. The business had revenue of $560.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $558.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Wendy's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the purchase, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.