The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Purchased by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 838,680 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 74,007 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC owned about 0.41% of Wendy's worth $15,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wendy's by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Wendy's by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Wendy's by 203.2% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,516 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Wendy's in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Wendy's by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Wendy's

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wendy's Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.94. 3,617,900 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,569,258. The Wendy's Company has a 52 week low of $17.64 and a 52 week high of $23.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.05.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy's had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The business had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $540.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WEN. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Wendy's from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Wendy's from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on Wendy's from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy's has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.60.

About Wendy's

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.

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.