The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 110,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 195,372 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,185,000 after buying an additional 11,812 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,070 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 11,916 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 371.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 253,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,127,000 after buying an additional 199,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WEN opened at $12.68 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.27. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $12.05 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.89%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.97.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy’s U.S., Wendy’s International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy’s U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.