The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Short Interest Up 44.2% in August

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,650,000 shares, an increase of 44.2% from the July 31st total of 8,770,000 shares. Approximately 6.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.13.

Insider Activity

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $17,180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at $256,728,745.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wendy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,813,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $115,562,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960,526 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter worth $42,085,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 113.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,491,376 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $59,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,970 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $27,627,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN opened at $16.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.82. Wendy’s has a 52-week low of $15.61 and a 52-week high of $20.84.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.91%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

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.