Teza Capital Management LLC Takes Position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 52,750 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $860,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Wendy's in the third quarter worth $763,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at about $464,000. Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Wendy's in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Wendy's by 46.4% in 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. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Wendy's by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,056 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.34.

Insider Transactions at Wendy's

In other Wendy's news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Price Performance

WEN stock opened at $12.34 on Tuesday. The Wendy's Company has a 12 month low of $11.70 and a 12 month high of $20.60. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The company had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wendy's 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.

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