Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 280,989 Shares of The Wendy's Company $WEN

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in The Wendy's Company by 63.7%, selling 280,989 shares and now holding 160,394 shares in total.
• Multiple hedge funds increased their stakes in Wendy's, with notable growth from Tidal Investments LLC (52.0%), GAMMA Investing LLC (2,695.0%), and Merit Financial Group LLC (168.1%).
• Wendy's reported a $0.29 earnings per share for the last quarter, higher than the expected $0.25, though revenue declined by 1.7% year-over-year.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 63.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 160,394 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 280,989 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Wendy's worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Wendy's by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,403 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Wendy's by 2,695.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,412 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 60,179 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Wendy's by 20.1% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 700,472 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,248,000 after acquiring an additional 117,324 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Wendy's by 2.0% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 787,890 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $11,527,000 after acquiring an additional 15,315 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Wendy's by 168.1% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 76,235 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 47,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Northcoast Research cut Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $12.00 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.66.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy's stock opened at $9.21 on Monday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $10.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.37. The Wendy's Company has a 12 month low of $9.04 and a 12 month high of $20.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.43 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $560.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $558.95 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 103.07% and a net margin of 8.63%.Wendy's's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Wendy's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.820-0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.33%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.