The Wendy's Company $WEN Shares Sold by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC has significantly reduced its stake in The Wendy's Company by 67.8%, now holding 504,642 shares valued at approximately $7.38 million.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.29 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, but revenue showed a 1.7% decline year-over-year.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share has been announced, with a dividend yield of 5.5%, set to be paid on September 16th.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC reduced its holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 67.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 504,642 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,063,706 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Wendy's worth $7,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,634,226 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $316,509,000 after acquiring an additional 536,071 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wendy's by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,767,723 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $99,012,000 after acquiring an additional 464,444 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Wendy's by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,081,000 after acquiring an additional 90,380 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 89.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,987,332 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $43,705,000 after buying an additional 1,411,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,577,359 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $37,707,000 after buying an additional 142,500 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $12.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Guggenheim cut shares of Wendy's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.97.

Wendy's Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of WEN traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.33. 7,542,823 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,329,930. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.24. The Wendy's Company has a 12-month low of $9.74 and a 12-month high of $20.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $560.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $558.95 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 103.07%. The business's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Wendy's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Wendy's's payout ratio is 58.33%.

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.