The Wendy's Company $WEN Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies significantly increased its Wendy’s stake by purchasing 2.254 million additional shares, bringing its holdings to 2.34 million shares worth approximately $16.3 million, or 1.23% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Wendy’s has a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $8.04, despite Argus upgrading the stock to “Buy.”
• Wendy’s reported quarterly EPS of $0.12, exceeding expectations, while revenue rose 3.3% year over year but fell short of forecasts. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.14, representing a 7.6% annualized yield.

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 2,612.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,340,282 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 2,254,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.23% of Wendy's worth $16,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Wendy's by 8.4% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,987 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 91,885 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares during the period. Brown Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 4.7% during the second quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 29,908 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Wendy's by 3.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 40,993 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy's by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,449 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WEN shares. Argus upgraded Wendy's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Wendy's from $7.75 to $7.25 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $8.04.

Wendy's Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $7.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.25, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The Wendy's Company has a 1-year low of $6.07 and a 1-year high of $10.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $7.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.44.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $432.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $518.03 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 136.46%. The company's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Wendy's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.79%.

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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