The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Bought by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 1,636.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,767 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 248,575 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Wendy's worth $4,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,303,279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $102,743,000 after purchasing an additional 458,106 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 1.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 296.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,882,829 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,503 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,938,000 after purchasing an additional 766,910 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth $16,678,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Wendy's from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.58.

Wendy's Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WEN traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.49. 5,260,158 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,260,812. The Wendy's Company has a twelve month low of $12.05 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.01%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

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.