Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in The Wendy's Company $WEN

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments acquired 152,638 Wendy’s shares in the third quarter, worth about $974,000 and equal to 0.08% of the company.
• Wendy’s reported quarterly EPS of $0.13, beating the $0.09 consensus estimate, but revenue of $435.6 million came in below estimates and declined 0.5% year over year.
• Wendy’s announced a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Reduce,” with an average price target of $7.56.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 152,638 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $974,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.08% of Wendy's as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Wendy's by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 9,643 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Wendy's by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 204,348 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Wendy's in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Wendy's by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 37,778 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 3,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wendy's in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy's Stock Performance

WEN opened at $8.15 on Monday. The Wendy's Company has a 12-month low of $5.94 and a 12-month high of $10.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.00, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $6.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.36.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $435.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.28 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 4.40% and a return on equity of 93.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Wendy's Company will post 0.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.90%.

Wendy's News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wendy's this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wendy’s reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share, above analysts’ estimates, and launched its multi-year “Dave’s Way” plan to improve traffic, market share and restaurant profitability. Quarterly results and strategy
• Positive Sentiment: The company is refreshing its menu for 2027 and tailoring breakfast offerings by location after tests found that scaling back breakfast in some locations improved profitability. These moves could help the turnaround if they attract customers and lift margins. Menu refresh
• Positive Sentiment: Wendy’s is considering acquiring as many as 163 Meritage Hospitality Group restaurants, which could give it more control over locations and support its franchise portfolio strategy, though the deal is not final. Potential restaurant acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup and Stephens raised their price targets to $8, while keeping neutral and equal-weight ratings, respectively. Both targets are slightly below the cited share price, suggesting limited near-term upside in their views.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, quarterly earnings were below the year-ago level and revenue declined year over year, underscoring the traffic and sales challenges the turnaround must address.
• Negative Sentiment: The board rejected Trian’s $7.35-per-share buyout proposal as undervaluing Wendy’s and adopted a limited-duration “poison pill.” The offer was below the cited recent share price, but blocking it leaves investors reliant on management’s turnaround and may prolong activist-related uncertainty. Buyout proposal rejection

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WEN shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Wendy's from $6.75 to $8.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Wendy's in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $7.56.

Wendy's Profile

The Wendy's Company NASDAQ: WEN operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the Wendy's brand. Its restaurants are known for hamburgers made with fresh, never-frozen beef, along with chicken sandwiches, salads, fries, breakfast items, desserts, and beverages.

Founded by Dave Thomas in 1969, Wendy's has grown into an international restaurant chain with locations primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as select markets in other countries. The company's restaurant system includes both company-operated and franchised locations.

In addition to its restaurant operations, Wendy's supports customers through digital ordering, delivery, loyalty programs, and mobile applications.

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