The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Stake Lifted by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 170.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 297,187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 187,440 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 0.15% of Wendy's worth $4,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wendy's by 670.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Wendy's by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim lowered Wendy's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Wendy's Stock Performance

WEN traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $11.33. 1,004,581 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,283,141. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.16. The Wendy's Company has a twelve month low of $11.25 and a twelve month high of $20.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40.

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. The firm 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%. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy's

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.