Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,987 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 904 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,303,279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $102,743,000 after purchasing an additional 458,106 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,938,000 after buying an additional 766,910 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,678,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,358,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 801,070 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,057,000 after acquiring an additional 35,016 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.69.

Wendy’s Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $12.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $12.05 and a 52 week high of $20.65. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.33 and a 200-day moving average of $16.09.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.