The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Purchased by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 8.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 382,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 29,050 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $6,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Wendy’s by 6.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,097,095 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $397,469,000 after buying an additional 1,273,140 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,344,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $100,683,000 after acquiring an additional 111,626 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,094,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,446,000 after purchasing an additional 70,514 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Wendy’s by 2.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,321,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,571,000 after purchasing an additional 68,356 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Wendy’s by 3.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,745,202 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,559,000 after purchasing an additional 102,512 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of WEN stock opened at $17.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.08 and its 200-day moving average is $17.65. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $15.61 and a 1 year high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a return on equity of 67.74% and a net margin of 9.18%. The business had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WEN. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research raised Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.50 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,728,745.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.