Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases Shares of 819,483 The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 819,483 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $13,358,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Wendy’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 11,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,523 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,432 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Wendy’s by 2.1% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 46,945 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Wendy’s from $18.00 to $18.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.99.

Wendy’s Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $14.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $14.57 and a 1 year high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

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

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.