The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Purchased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 90,380 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 1.54% of Wendy's worth $51,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,303,279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $102,743,000 after purchasing an additional 458,106 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,033,560 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $65,747,000 after purchasing an additional 43,805 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 296.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,503 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,938,000 after purchasing an additional 766,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,575,420 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 308,142 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.26. 4,243,866 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,278,321. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.37. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The Wendy's Company has a 12-month low of $11.70 and a 12-month high of $20.60.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.57%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of Wendy's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their position. The sale 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

WEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their target price on Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Argus raised Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price target on Wendy's in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.34.

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.