Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 140,138 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,929,326 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 140,138 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $86,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 6.4% in the 1st 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. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in Wendy’s by 98.2% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 176,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 87,254 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the second quarter worth $17,094,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 159.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 59,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 1st quarter worth $379,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 owns 14,943,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Wendy’s stock opened at $19.70 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $15.61 and a 52-week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The company had revenue of $570.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 101.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.50 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.22.

Wendy’s 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.