Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Holdings in The Wendy's Company $WEN

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. significantly increased its investment in The Wendy's Company by 345.4% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 42,023 shares, bringing its total holdings to 54,189 shares valued at approximately $793,000.
• Wendy's recently announced a $0.14 quarterly dividend, with a yield of 5.3% and a payout ratio of 58.33%, to be paid on September 16th.
• In the most recent quarter, Wendy's reported $0.29 earnings per share, beating estimates of $0.25, along with revenues of $560.93 million, despite a year-over-year decline of 1.7%.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 345.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 42,023 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Wendy's were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 5.5% in the first quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 27.4% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 7.9% in the first quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 13,618 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 25.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,069 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 22.0% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,223 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Wendy's from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Wendy's from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.82.

Wendy's Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ WEN traded down $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.27. The stock had a trading volume of 5,396,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,538,495. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.37. The Wendy's Company has a one year low of $9.74 and a one year high of $20.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.34.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $560.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Wendy's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Wendy's's payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

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.