Swiss National Bank Sells 3,200 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $5,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Wendy’s by 483.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,079 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 1,577 shares during the period. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 62,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 7,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Wendy’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WEN shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.36.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

Shares of WEN opened at $18.39 on Wednesday. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 70.02% and a net margin of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.26%.

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.