The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Stock Holdings Boosted by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC increased its position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 371.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,256 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 199,496 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.12% of Wendy's worth $4,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 711,267 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $12,461,000 after purchasing an additional 102,769 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,733,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wendy's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wendy's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,318,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the fourth quarter worth $13,358,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WEN. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Wendy's from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus upgraded Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.58.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of WEN stock traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $12.50. 4,815,684 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,251,707. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The company's fifty day moving average is $14.23 and its 200 day moving average is $16.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The Wendy's Company has a 1-year low of $12.05 and a 1-year high of $20.65.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The company had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $564.17 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.