Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.12 Million Stock Holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 168.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,235 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 47,795 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Wendy's were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 26,984 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 670.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.48. 8,868,186 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,349,791. The Wendy's Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.98 and a fifty-two week high of $20.60. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $12.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.46. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Wendy's's payout ratio is 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wendy's 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 value of $1,752,651.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 28,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,206.08. The trade was a 21.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Wendy's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.34.

Wendy's 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.