Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,080 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 11,473 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WEN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 328.8% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 517,693 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,085,000 after acquiring an additional 20,525 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Wendy’s by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 132,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 9,013 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted 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, May 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.60.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $19.38 on Thursday. The Wendy’s Company has a one year low of $17.64 and a one year high of $23.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.87 and its 200 day moving average is $19.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.21, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 62.68%. The firm had revenue of $534.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 101.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $81,315.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.