Ruffer LLP Purchases Shares of 382,890 The Wendy's Company $WEN

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake of 382,890 shares in The Wendy's Company valued at about $3.19 million, representing roughly 0.20% ownership.
• Institutions heavily own Wendy's stock (about 85.96%); notable moves include AQR Capital boosting its position by 3.2 million shares to 13.84 million shares (≈$158.1M).
• Wendy's trades around $7.11 with a market cap of $1.35 billion and a P/E of 8.36, recently paid a $0.14 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.56, a 7.9% yield), and carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $9.00 price target.

Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 382,890 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,194,000. Ruffer LLP owned about 0.20% of Wendy's as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Wendy's by 30.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,843,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $158,092,000 after buying an additional 3,205,269 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Wendy's in the third quarter valued at about $36,912,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Wendy's by 65.7% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,479,870 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $13,556,000 after buying an additional 586,940 shares during the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC raised its stake in Wendy's by 382.8% in the third quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 1,216,811 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $11,146,000 after buying an additional 964,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Wendy's by 5.6% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 932,711 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,652,000 after buying an additional 49,152 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy's Stock Down 0.3%

Wendy's stock opened at $7.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.40. The Wendy's Company has a 52 week low of $6.63 and a 52 week high of $13.06. The business's 50-day moving average price is $7.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.77.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Wendy's had a return on equity of 145.93% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $439.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Wendy's's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Wendy's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Wendy's Company will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WEN. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Wendy's from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Wendy's from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Wendy's from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Evercore set a $8.00 price objective on Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wendy's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.00.

About Wendy's

The Wendy's Company NASDAQ: WEN operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company's menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy's has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy's expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.

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