The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Short Interest Up 17.6% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 17.6% in April to 44,235,440 shares (about 28.0% of the stock sold short), with a days-to-cover ratio of 6.2.
• Wall Street sentiment is cautious — MarketBeat shows an average rating of Reduce and a consensus price target of $8.81 after multiple firms trimmed targets and many issued hold/neutral ratings.
• Wendy's pays a quarterly dividend that annualizes to $0.56 for an 8.3% yield, while FY2026 EPS guidance of $0.56–$0.60 and a payout ratio near 66% suggest limited margin for dividend growth or shocks.

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 44,235,440 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the March 31st total of 37,621,126 shares. Approximately 28.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,148,504 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Wendy's

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Wendy's by 71.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 634,304 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,810,000 after buying an additional 264,905 shares during the period. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy's by 382.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 1,216,811 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,146,000 after buying an additional 964,771 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,651,000. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,194,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Wendy's by 107.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 759,620 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,958,000 after buying an additional 393,105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Wendy's from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Wendy's from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Wendy's from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy's currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.81.

Wendy's Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $6.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.40. Wendy's has a 1 year low of $6.63 and a 1 year high of $13.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.77, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $439.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.11 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 145.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Wendy's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Wendy's will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.88%.

About Wendy's

The Wendy's Company NASDAQ: WEN operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company's menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy's has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy's expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.

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