Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 11,745 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $191,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 670.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Wendy’s by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN stock opened at $15.50 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The Wendy’s Company has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WEN. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised shares of Wendy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.42.

Wendy’s Company Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.