The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Holdings Lifted by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 84,261.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 596,438 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 595,731 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned 0.30% of Wendy's worth $8,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new position in shares of Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 1,111.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wendy's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.33. The company had a trading volume of 5,942,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,408,653. The Wendy's Company has a 12 month low of $10.91 and a 12 month high of $20.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.23.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Wendy's had a return on equity of 85.36% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WEN. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Securities cut their price objective on Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy's

In related news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $2,600,494.05. This represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski purchased 5,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 28,956 shares in the company, valued at $338,206.08. This represents 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.

About Wendy's

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.