Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Wendy's Company $WEN

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,634,226 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 536,071 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.27% of Wendy's worth $316,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 5.5% in the first quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Wendy's by 27.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Wendy's by 22.0% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,223 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 6.6% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 21,576 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased 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 owned 28,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,206.08. This trade represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Wendy's from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. TD Securities cut 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. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Wendy's from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.76.

Wendy's Trading Down 2.9%

WEN stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.27. The company had a trading volume of 7,423,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,012,105. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.74. The Wendy's Company has a 52 week low of $9.74 and a 52 week high of $20.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $10.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.63. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Wendy's's payout ratio is presently 58.33%.

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.