Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $487,000 Position in The Wendy’s Company $WEN

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 70,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 382.8% during the third 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. Ruffer LLP bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $3,194,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $781,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at $785,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $102,000. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN opened at $7.45 on Thursday. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $6.07 and a 52-week high of $12.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.25. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $7.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.53.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $432.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $518.03 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 136.46%. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. Wendy’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho set a $6.00 price objective on Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wendy’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $6.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.56.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.