S.A. Mason LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

S.A. Mason LLC lessened its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trian Fund Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 33,350,743 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $680,689,000 after acquiring an additional 12,618,115 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,395,661 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $444,218,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039,239 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 370.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,879,282 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $62,711,000 after buying an additional 2,267,900 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s in the 4th quarter worth $44,445,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 386.3% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,586,996 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260,639 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

WEN stock opened at $18.90 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.17. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $17.64 and a 12-month high of $23.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $540.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.47 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 56.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WEN shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays downgraded Wendy’s from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy’s

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $81,315.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,663.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 20.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wendy’s Company Profile

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.