Insider Buying: The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) CMO Purchases 5,050 Shares of Stock

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the acquisition, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 28,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This trade represents a 21.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wendy's Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,166,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,327,293. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $12.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a PEG 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 $10.98 and a 12-month high of $20.60.

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 for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued 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 yield of 4.79%. Wendy's's payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Argus raised shares of Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Wendy's from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Institutional Trading of Wendy's

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy's by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,634,226 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $316,509,000 after purchasing an additional 536,071 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy's by 2.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,638,169 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $154,998,000 after acquiring an additional 217,055 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 7.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,767,723 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $99,012,000 after purchasing an additional 464,444 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in 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 valued at $65,747,000 after acquiring an additional 43,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Wendy's by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,081,000 after acquiring an additional 90,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

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.