The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Sold by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 71.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 43,177 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 159.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,480 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,303,279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $102,743,000 after buying an additional 458,106 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Wendy’s by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,187,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,887,000 after buying an additional 37,801 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Wendy’s by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,836 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $54,287,000 after acquiring an additional 115,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Wendy’s by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,938,000 after acquiring an additional 766,910 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wendy’s Price Performance

Shares of WEN stock opened at $15.26 on Friday. The Wendy’s Company has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $20.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.73. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $14.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.83.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.17 million. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.08.

Wendy’s 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.