86,902 Shares in The Wendy’s Company $WEN Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 86,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $720,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Trian Fund Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $252,583,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 1st quarter valued at $26,062,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Wendy’s by 2,612.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,340,282 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Wendy’s by 5.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,493,752 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,232,000 after purchasing an additional 236,541 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Wendy’s by 21.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 26,314,724 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $218,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,576,075 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WEN. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (down from $7.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $7.78.

Wendy’s Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Wendy’s stock opened at $8.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.00 and a 200-day moving average of $7.48. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $6.07 and a 52-week high of $10.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.39.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $570.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $557.13 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 115.31%. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is 42.42%.

Wendy’s Profile

The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) operates as a global quick-service restaurant chain, best known for its square-shaped beef patties, fresh ingredient sourcing and signature Frosty dessert. The company’s menu features a variety of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, sides and beverages, designed to appeal to a broad customer base seeking both classic and contemporary fast-food options. Wendy’s has placed particular emphasis on product innovation, introducing limited-time offerings and revamped core menu items to maintain customer interest and respond to evolving dining trends.

Founded in 1969 by entrepreneur Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy’s expanded rapidly through both company-owned and franchised outlets.