Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 1,224,618 Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its stake in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 57.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 923,115 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,224,618 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.45% of Wendy's worth $15,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 52.0% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,403 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth about $860,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 4,354.3% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 31,180 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 30,480 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 170.8% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 297,187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,844,000 after buying an additional 187,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,644,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Wendy's

In other Wendy's news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WEN shares. Argus raised Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities decreased their target price on Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital cut their price target on Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.34.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of WEN stock opened at $11.50 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $13.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The Wendy's Company has a 52-week low of $11.39 and a 52-week high of $20.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The business 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 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.57%.

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.

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