Legal & General Group Plc Purchases Shares of 414,356 The Wendy’s Company $WEN

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 414,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,435,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $161,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 1.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 639,085 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,350,000 after acquiring an additional 11,072 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 15,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Wendy’s by 136.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 27,776 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 16,053 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,987 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Argus upgraded Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wendy’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.78.

Wendy’s Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $8.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.95, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39. The Wendy’s Company has a 1 year low of $6.07 and a 1 year high of $10.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.48.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 115.31% and a net margin of 5.72%.The firm had revenue of $570.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $557.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Cuts Dividend

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

Wendy’s Company 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.