Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 340,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.17% of Wendy’s worth $5,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WEN. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in Wendy’s by 98.2% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 176,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 87,254 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter worth approximately $17,094,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 254.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 175,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after buying an additional 125,851 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 66,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 27,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in Wendy’s by 78.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 94,442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 41,586 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

Wendy’s Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.61 and its 200 day moving average is $17.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted 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 net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The firm had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

About Wendy’s

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.